Passion Projects

Head, heart, hands and health are the H’s in 4-H. These three students competed in the Boone County 4-H Fair in July.

By Kailey Wallenius, Feature Editor

Foster poses with her winning ribbons in her creation. photo submitted by Foster

Smiling at her cow, Sands celebrates her purple ribbon victory. photo submitted by Sands

Emma-Rose Foster

In a dress made of buttons, ties, and hand gloves, senior Emma Foster walked the runway at the Boone County Fair, competing in the Wearable Crafts category. Foster earned a purple ribbon in the competition, and the title of Grand Champion. Finding a category was a little more process of elimination for Foster. “When I was looking at all the 4-H categories, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I just picked Arts and Crafts,” Foster said. “I can’t do any of the animals because I don’t have the property for it.” With the miscellaneous activity, participants are able to have a wide range of what they can create. “I like the creativity of it, you can kind of do whatever you want,” Foster said. ”Then you get awards for it.” This is Foster’s second year of participating in this category of 4-H. “[Two years ago] I made a dress out of magazines,” Foster said. “I had a base dress from the 1800s, and then I resewed it all to have a nice base. Then I did a lot of cutting and gluing.”

Lylah Sands

Senior Lylah Sands competed in the Juniors Leader Project and the Dairy project, and has done 4-H for many years. Sands earned a purple ribbon, the highest ribbon offered at the competition. “I’ve been in 4-H since fourth grade,” Sands said. “Making this my ninth and last year, unfortunately.” Working in the Dairy Project helped Sands learn about animals and how to take care of them. “Spending time with my cows and at the farm is really calming,” Sands said. 4-H teaches young adults many important ideas that can help in the future. “I would 100% recommend 4-H to other people,” Sands said. “It’s a great way to meet new people, learn new skills, and do something you’ve never done before.”

Jayden Sanders

Competing with dairy cows, senior Jayden Sanders earned a purple ribbon, and the title of Reserve Champion. Sanders has been participating in 4-H since fourth grade. “When I first started, we recently had gotten a new kitten and I really wanted to show her at the fair,” Sanders said. Sanders has tried many different activities such as veterinary science, cats, ceramic, photography, and dairy cows.” “Each project is very different, and has leaders that are very familiar in the subject of the project,” Sanders said. Showing cows requires extra time spent at the fairgrounds. “When the fair gets closer, we have to bathe our cow and clip their hair,” Sanders said. “When the fair starts, we spend the whole week with our cows at the fairgrounds making sure she is fed and hydrated and clean.” Other activities can teach real life skills that will help beyond 4-H. “For vet science, we have monthly meetings with a local vet who is our leader, and she has workshops for us to do a tour of her vet clinic, and how to draw blood and do stitches,” Sanders said.