STATE 4-H LEADER Get to know the

BY MARIA CHILDS, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

It’s all about the partnerships. The youth adult partnerships and helping develop those life skills as they develop into the leaders of tomorrow. We always hope that youth find their spark, that they find the special thing that they’re passionate about.

That’s a good question because I initially wanted to be a high school math teacher. My 4-H agent had asked me, “have you ever thought about going into extension and being a 4-H agent?” I had never really thought about it. For one semester, I was a dual major with math and then family relations and child development. Let’s just say some math classes and I didn’t get along as well as I had hoped. After just one semester of classes, under my belt, I thought “you know this is really where I want to go.” So, I dropped the math degree and I continued with the family relations and child development major, and then I never looked back.

Kansas 4-H provides a safe haven to fail, and it can be in any realm. It provides the opportunity to fail in a safe place, learn from it, and then be able to apply what you learned the next year in some capacity. One of the things that I really love about Kansas 4-H is the conference judging when it comes time for fair, or even with 4-H club day. You can talk with the judge and have that one-on-one conversation to know what you did well and where you can improve. So then, you can turn around and apply it the next time.

My first time there because I was blown away by the fact that we had such a gorgeous campground to be able to use for the 4-H program on a statewide basis. It’s amazing to me that other organizations can use the facility, regardless of 4-H enrollment. But when I was able to go to Rock Springs for the first time, I was just blown away at the simple fact that we had this facility.

Philanthropy expands the outreach to support quality experiences. Philanthropic opportunities with the Kansas 4-H Foundation, local foundations and other local groups reinforces and elevates the 4-H program. It opens doors to a philanthropic conversation. Doors that may not have even been there, because somebody either left a large amount of money in their estate or a conversation started with a potential donor.

My mom always taught me to break an egg in a bowl before putting it in the batter. It was a good thing because one time, I had a rotten egg. My mom said “see this is why we break the eggs in a bowl, before we put it into the mix because you don’t know what’s inside that shell.”

I would say when you look at the list of projects, pick just a couple. There’s no need to go all crazy and select a whole lot, but just pick a couple that you think are super interesting that you would like to learn more about and then explore them. As you are in 4-H longer you have the opportunity to say “I’ve learned enough about this project, I’m ready to move on to something new” or “I have found my spark and I absolutely love this. I just want to keep improving up on it and doing more.”

The other thing I would say, especially for the parents, don’t think you have to know all the answers. Don’t be afraid to let your child enroll in a project that you know nothing about. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and just let the club leadership know if you don’t know something.

When you think about the various 4-H projects that campers are exposed to, I think of shooting sports, environmental sciences and stream studies. There’s just a lot of that. It is so important that our youth, with the advancement of technology, that have the ability and opportunity to go outdoors and enjoy nature. I think the 4-H camp experience just gives 4-H members and non4-H members, another level of exposure to not only 4-H projects, but also that opportunity to get out and enjoy nature and in a beautiful place.

The chicken strips and rolls.