4-H success stories Fresh from the Field

Teens mean business in North Dakota 

Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota is far removed from major cities, and youth living there have few opportunities to learn from business role models. To encourage youth entrepreneurship, North Dakota State University (NDSU) extension agent Sue Isbell partnered with the Solen School District to offer 4-H members a hands-on experience of operating a viable business. In 2010, Solen High School launched Sioux Image an embroidery, printing, and silkscreen business. Students are taught basic business skills and silkscreen printing techniques. Students learned to operate a business, and increase its profitability. All profits are reinvested back into the business or utilized by the mentoring program.

To date, more than 300 youth have participated in the Sioux Image business at Solen High School. The school business has led to a 35 percent increase in graduation rates, expanded peer mentoring opportunities, and six students enrolled in higher education, one graduating with a degree in graphic design. 

Read the full story at NDSU. Image provided by Sue Isabel -NDSU.

4-H blooms in Ohio

For some underserved students, agriculture is a foreign concept.  At Central State University (CSU), a 1890s land-grant institution in Wilberforce, Ohio, the Cooperative Extension Service was determined to change that.

This summer, they offered the Seed to Bloom Ag-STEM Institute, a nationally recognized 4-H Youth Development Program, to 60 rising sixth, seventh, and eighth graders from across the state. 

Students learned about agriculture while planting a large, working garden of food crops.  They learned about natural resources sciences, learning about soil health and how to analyze water pH.

“Initially, our girls left home grudgingly,” according to a parent’s letter to CSU President Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Hammond. “Now they find ways, in our family discussions, to talk about agriculture, healthy eating, and the impact they have on our day-to-day lives.”

Students participated in more than 80 hours of academic instruction, and 80 percent of participants reported an improved ability to define or explain agriculture.

Learn more about Seed to Bloom at the CSU website. Image provided by Michelle Smith- CSU. 

Find your voice with 4-H

For more than a century, 4-H has helped young people open doors to new opportunities. 4-H helped Noelle Fields grow from a shy student to a flourishing young woman whose leadership skills were recognized by the Governor of Mississippi.

As a ninth-grader, Noelle Sykes became withdrawn and depressed because she was being bullied at school. A family friend who volunteered at the local 4-H encouraged her to join the club and meet positive kids and good role models. Noelle joined the Consolidated 4-H Club in Lee County, and promptly won first place in her first project, public speaking. She continued to pursue 4-H projects that tested her communication skills, as well as social service efforts, such as collecting eyeglasses for those who can’t afford them.

Her path to 4-H came full circle when she began performing in an anti-bullying play with the 4-H State Technology Team under the direction of Dr. Linda Mitchell, a regional coordinator for the Mississippi State University Extension Service. In addition to presenting the play at local elementary schools and at community events, Noelle traveled to Washington, D.C., and New York City. Through more than 200 hours of volunteer service, Noelle earned Congressional bronze and silver medals. 

Read more at MSU Extension Matters. Image provided by Kevin Hudson- MSU Extension Service. 

4-H “One-Health” STEM program, partners with tribes

The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension 4-H program partnered with the Colorado River Indian Tribes and several colleges at the University of Arizona for a 4-H STEM Discovery Camp, a first-ever program to expose students to the University, and STEM careers. About 30 students from the La Paz County/Colorado River Indian Tribes 4-H Program in Parker, Arizona, visited the University of Arizona to learn about STEM education and health and agricultural sciences career opportunities in November 2016.

The students visited the UA College of Pharmacy, where they made hand-sanitizer; participated in hands-on learning about dairy production in Arizona; took a tour of the food product and safety lab; learned about horses with UA Cooperative Extension Equine Experts.

"Together we're merging animal science with human science and bridging that," said Dr. Gerardo Lopez, Extension Specialist in 4-H STEM Youth Development, and Assistant Professor.

Read more about at the UA Extension site. Image provided by Faith Schwartz-UA.

4-H leadership skills in space

NASA and 4-H, a program of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), teamed up with Astronaut and 4-H alumna Peggy Whitson to inspire youth to develop life skills for success inside and outside the classroom. 

Whitson served as commander of the International Space Station (ISS) in 2017.  She made history as the first female commander of the station, for serving the longest time in orbit in a single spaceflight for a female astronaut, and as the U.S. astronaut, male or female, with the most cumulative time in space, at 665 days.

The online resource hub “Expeditionary Skills for Life features lessons and content built around the skills needed to become an astronaut that also help students succeed across the board. The curriculum pairs Whitson’s stay on the ISS with monthly themes such as teamwork, leadership and self-care.

Watch the Expeditionary Skills for Life video.