Personal Narrative: My 4-H Journey

Ever since I was younger I have always tried staying away from reading. The only person in my family that likes to read is my mom; however, she does not read often. Once she picks up a book, she cannot put it down. My dad on the other hand, never picks up a book. He and I are one in the same; we do not like reading because we have a hard time comprehending what we read. My brother also does not like to read. He does not like reading because he has a learning disability. My mom always had an extremely tough time getting him to read. Overall, my literacy experiences at home are few and far between.

The level of membership in 4-H does not have anything to do with your knowledge or experience. For most people like myself, we got started in 4-H at the age of five being a cloverbud. I got to go to the club meetings, participate in them, do activities with older members, and even take a project to the fair if I wanted to, but it just did not get judged. At the age of eight I became a first year 4-Her. I got to take any project(s) I wanted, and gave me a good feeling that I got to pick what I wanted to do. I took a market lamb, sewing for beginners, and cooking project. I had so much fun working with my grandma on my sewing project but learnt at the age of eight that it was not something I liked to do. I cooked with my mom and found I really enjoy to cook. Working on my market lamb with my older sister was probably the best of all my first year experiences. I never took another livestock project throughout my fifteen years in 4-H though. I could not handle sending an animal to its death after I had spent endless amounts of time with it. When I turned eleven I became a junior member and when I did my projects I was expected to do more with in them. As I

In fact, it was the same tour I went on in 4-H as a fourth grader, so I knew what they felt when I saw the amazement on their faces. Being a member shapes students as an individual and is for anyone who wants to make a difference. As a member students are blessed with the opportunities to come together and help others; the opportunities include: raising money for charities, helping food ministries, helping animals, and introducing the younger generation to 4-H and FFA, which go hand in

I have been a preschool teacher, teaching mixed age children from 18 months to 5 years, for over 10 years. I started as a work study employee, while attending the Community College of Philadelphia in 2006, to a part-time teaching assistant while attending Temple University in 2010. This led me to a lead-teacher position after graduation and then to a program coordinator. I have developed effective working relationships with children in the past years. This position has helped me improve my teamwork and interpersonal skills by cooperating with other teachers in planning teaching materials according to the Reggio Emilia approach and by sharing teaching resources. I decided that working with children, understanding and assisting in their education,

“Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. It’s mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations. To go where no man has gone before.” The words rang inside my head as I stood on the stage at 4-H State Roundup as Captain Kirk in my club’s skit “The Enterprise Discovers 4-H.” As I consider my 4-H experience and adventures I realize that my goal in 4-H has been much like the goal of the Enterprise: to explore strange new topics, to seek out new projects and new skills - to learn what many have never learned! My time in 4-H has been just that, an adventure from a nervous twelve year old to a confident seventeen year old. This journey has been about learning how to use my head, heart,

It’s the middle of the winter of 2009 and my family and I are on our way to my very first meeting with the Three Rivers 4H Club. I am incredibly unsure about what 4H is, in fact, I had never even heard of 4H before my mother presented the idea to me in the spring of 2009. My mother brought the idea to me because I was tired of lying around all summer and I needed something to do. To fix this dilemma I was having, she did a little bit of research on the Internet for summer activities and programs around Carlisle and the state. That’s when my mother stumbled across an Iowa State University link for something called 4H. After she and I sat down and talked about 4H I found out that I loved the idea of all 4H is and what it does.

Growing up on a family farm in rural South Dakota, I never considered myself different from any other farm kid. At the age of eight, I joined the local 4-H club. Through my ten years of membership, I have participated in many differing project areas from showing beef calves to visual arts and everything in between. Through my many failures, I learned from my mistakes taking numerous best of show awards at county fair and finding success at state fair. 4-H has also given me the opportunity to become more involved in my community through local, county, and statewide community service projects. 4-H sparked my interest in agriculture.

My most important 4-H accomplishments include joining the Illinois State 4-H Youth Leadership Team (YLT), being chosen to serve on the Illinois Farm Bureau Youth in Education in Agriculture Committee 4-H representative (YEA), and county awards I have earned. Serving on YLT was a goal of mine ever since I went to the Junior Leadership Conference (JLC) my 7th and 8th grade years. On the team I have met some of the best people I now can call friends while representing 4-H across the state and impacting 4-H members too. Being apart of the team I have helped plan and execute two JLCs assisted with SFI-4-H training, worked at the Illinois State Fair, and represented 4-H at the University of Illinois Salute to Ag Day tailgate and football game. As

At the age of five, I was very shy and timid, but one way I feel I have overcame this was joining the Cobb Busy Badger 4-H Club. I joined 4-H when I was five years old and have been involved ever since. Through the years of 4-H, I have made life long friends, developed public speaking skills, and most importantly I have been able to give back to the community in many ways. As a member of 4-H, I volunteer at the local food pantry, adopt-a-family during the holidays, rake leaves in the fall, and play BINGO at the local nursing home. The leadership qualities and values I have gained by being in 4-H are something I take great pride in and will use in the future to help reach my goals.

I enrolled in the Ace's 4-h Club as a little ten year-old boy. Throughout the past nine years, 4-H has grown me into the leader I am today. In my early years of 4-H, I served as a recreation leader and treasurer of our 13 member club. In my high school years, I have served my club as a Vice President for two years, and taking over the role of President for this past year. Holding these higher officer positions forced me to talk for the entire meeting, discussing business and planning acitvities with my fellow club members. I have enjpyed going to club meetings and activities for the past nine years. At the county level, I have been involved in woodworking, photography, and home-improvement projects, along with showing pigs and cattle. I have

Last autumn, she made one of the best decisions of her life; to be a candidate for the Kansas 4-H Youth Leadership Council. She worked extensively on her interviewing skills, her speech, and the format of her poster to transform her into a representative of Kansas 4-H. Through the 4-H Youth Leadership Council, she not only expanded her leadership skills, but she helped others come out of their shell, and influenced their lives for the (hopefully) better.

Mr. Mike Joyner, the assistant commissioner in the Department of Agriculture of Florida, said “4-H is a great way for youth of all ages to get involved and educated on agriculture, what is going on in the government, and how to make healthy decisions. The club helps you use your 4-H's to go out and help the world. I think that this is probably one of the best youth organizations to have your kids involved in. As a father, I really encourage mine to be involved in some way.” Those 4-H's being head, hands, health, and heart, are impacting communities small and large. Each of the members in 4-H have gained excellent qualities that have helped them prepare for the future. Learning about science, citizenship, and health, has helped these members gain an understanding and appreciation for those involved in agriculture and engineering, the government officials, and not only their health, but for others as well. “This club has helped me expand my capabilities in so many areas like people skills, my responsibility, and time management has become a major key. Not to mention that it has given me a ton of opportunities that look awesome on college applications,” said Grace Ergle with a little sarcasm in her voice. “I think being in 4-H even helped my brother get into University of Florida's agricultural program!” Our youth of society today can become more enriched with education and engaged in our community through the work of 4-H. With the skills gained from this club, many public service officials, businessmen, and entertainers have already prospered in the country. The youth today, now far more advanced in technology, can prosper so much more and help our country and world to civility, and equality amongst us all. There are no qualifications to participate in the club, just a want to learn more. If you are want to attend a 4-H meeting, or get involved, their website, http://www.4-h.org/ , has countless

I learned how to make things from banana bread to a blanket to a wood planter box. The projects that I made and entered at the fair helped me become a well-rounded person and I am so thankful for that. Not only did making the projects shape my life, but learning to talk with the judges and tell them about my project was a great experience for me also. I was also taught how to learn from my mistakes and receive constructive criticism from the judges. I did not always receive a blue ribbon and I would have to learn from that and how to make my project better the next time. The things 4-H and my projects taught me growing up is

This year, entering the county fair for the sixth time, the most important thing about 4-H hit me. My 4-H club has become more than just that. They are my family, my friends, my future. Each year brings more kids

Like many people everyone wants to find their calling and figure out where they belong. My parents moved to the United States risking their lives on a boat from Haiti but soon separated while in america . My mom did a great job raising four kids on her own and I being the second child took part in raising my two younger siblings. In elementary school I struggled in many subjects but excelled in art, when I finally learned to read and went to middle school my grades were high enough to have honors reading and social study classes and even apa classes in highschool. I continued to excel in a lot of my classes, turns out I was smarter than I thought and all I need to do was learn to read and have people who took the time to teach me.