4-H continues to focus on youth development
For Jackie Russell, she said her niche was always 4-H.
“I loved 4-H,” Russell said. “It got me through high school. It was what I was involved in.”
With the 100-year anniversary for the USU Extension 4-H organization approaching, Russell shared some of her memories of being a part of 4-H and the part it played as her niche.
Russell, a senior studying psychology, is no longer a member of 4-H but was a part of it for seven years, through junior high, high school and a for a while on the collegiate level.
In junior high, Russell took part in the horse program, and once she got into high school, she said she got more involved with the leadership side of things.
“It was really focused on the community and just giving back to the community,” Russell said.
While in 4-H during high school, Russell was a part of a youth council for her county, in which the point was for “youth to voice their concerns for anything going on in the county,” Russell said.
Historically, 4-H began as a corn club for boys and a canning club for girls all over the nation. This gained popularity in many states, and the clubs worked to bring the latest advancements to the public by educating young people who were open to new technologies.
According to a review of 4-H being written for this centennial year, the “development of our nation’s youth continues to be the focus of 4-H.”
Though the organization started out as corn and canning clubs for youth, it has since grown to encompass programs including “robotics, global positioning systems, graphic information systems, video productions, summer science camps and more,” according to the centennial review.
Lauralee Lyons, state activities coordinator at the USU 4-H Extension, oversees the group at USU and is organizing the centennial celebration, entitled “Celebrating the Past, Creating the Future,” which will take place on campus July 12-14.
The celebration will include a combination of state contests that are actually held yearly but will be tweaked for the centennial conference, Russel said. Competitions will also be open for any adult alumni who have competed in the past and would like to return to give competition another shot.
The 3-day celebration is meant to be a time for current, old and new members of 4-H to come together to learn and celebrate things they have been doing for 100 years.
“We invite everyone to join 4-H alumni and friends in ‘Celebrating the Past, Creating the Future,'” said Kevin Kesler, USU Extension director of Utah 4-H programs.
Lyons said the conference celebration will allow anyone who would like to compete together — whether teen or adult — to compete in the same field in an adult-versus-teen competition.
“It’s kind of a ‘You say you know it all, let’s see how well you can actually do,’ sort of thing,” Lyons said. “We are really just playing around with them. It will all be for fun.”
However, competitions will not be the only thing taking place during the conference.
“There are also leader meets where there will be workshops of anything you can imagine,” Lyons said. “Robotics, cows, cooking — there will be all of these at the same time.”
An alumni barbecue is scheduled for Saturday where alumni and their families visit the new Agricultural Science Building. There will be blowup toys, a rock wall and many other activities, Lyons said.
“Talk about a massive reunion,” Lyons said. “We’re making it big. It is to let people know we are still alive and well.”
Lyons said she joined 4-H at age 4, and after working her way up through the years, she eventually took the position she’s in now at USU. She was also a state ambassador at one point in her 4-H career, working across the state to raise awareness for the organization and what it stands for.
“I love 4-H. I think it makes a real difference in people’s lives,” Lyons said. “No other organization like it makes that difference.”
Russell was also a state ambassador for 4-H and worked on statewide workshops on things like legislation and leadership principles.
She said she believes 4-H has made just as big of an impact in her life as it has for Lyons.
“Four-H was such an important part of my life,” Russell said. “Sometimes people hear it and laugh or say, ‘Oh, those little hicks doing their 4-H.’ But it’s really there for us to serve, to learn, to be a leader and to develop talents.”
For Russell, being a part of 4-H constitutes who she is today.
Because of her involvement in service and leadership in 4-H, Russell said she received an ambassador scholarship for USU.
“If I hadn’t been in 4-H, I probably wouldn’t be at USU,” Russell said. “It’s what got me here.”
Utah 4-H clubs have 75,000 members and about 8,000 of them work as leaders in the organization, Lyons said.
“It’s not about the cows and horses,” Russell said. “It is about developing the talents of the youth.”
– mandy.m.morgan@aggiemail.usu.edu