Being the largest youth development program in the United States is not all 4-H can brag about. 4-H is an after school program that youth age eight to eighteen can become involved in. There are a multitude of projects that are offered ranging from cake decorating to shooting or robotics to public speaking. Whatever you are interested in, there is something for you. Kate Bartkoski, 4-H Youth Specialist from Phelps County, describes 4-H as “[A]n organization where you can learn new skills that you get to choose from someone you might not normally interact with. You get to step outside your comfort zone and experience things that you might not have got to in school or church or other activities.”
On top of the project opportunities, 4-H offers trips to youth. These trips can be on the local, regional, state, or national level. These trips serve to teach youth a variety of skills that they will use throughout their life and interact with kids their age from all around the state. Nine year member, junior Hannah Delp, ties the trip presented by 4-H to 4-H’s motto.
“Even if you’re involved for a short time, you will build lifelong friendships just from going to camp or state congress, all while having fun and learning about ways to serve not only yourself, but your community, your country, and your world,” Delp said.
It seems there’s no end to the skills you can develop in 4-H. Nearly every trip, project, or event attended will teach a member something.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot of leadership skills by doing demonstrations in front of my club, getting up and talking in front of people to present my ideas in a way that’s beneficial to others. It’s definitely taught me a lot of organization skills. Keeping on track of things, keeping my projects straight, [and] getting my forms turned in on time,” Delp said.
Perhaps the most important thing that 4-H offers is how to improve yourself. One of those ways is to set goals and work towards achieving them. According to Bartkoski, this is precisely it.
“I think one of the most important things [4-H teaches] is probably how to set goals and how to achieve them. So at the beginning of the year kids can set goals to go show their steer at the fair this summer or I want to make something that would help someone in my community and sell it at a craft fair. So learning to raise the standards for themselves and take on new challenges,” Bartkoski said.