From left: 4-H Foundation Board Member Juanita Waits, scholarship recipients Elizabeth McGibbon, Autumn Gilbert and Robin Lee, and 4-H Foundation President Julie Adamcin.
Teen leaders led morning orientation sessions that included group "energizer" activities to get participants ready for the day.
Several 4-H members volunteered at Ben's Bells, a local nonprofit whose mission is to teach individuals and communities about the positive impacts of intentional kindness and to inspire people to practice kindness as a way of life.
Hands-on activities gave participants the chance to explore various career and educational paths with the help of UA faculty, staff and students.
The teen leadership team gathered for a photo before the "Clover Ball," a formal dance that gave 4-Hers a chance to socialize, network and have fun.
4-H Summit participants learned the basics of telemetry with help from students and faculty in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment.
Several 4-H members helped make Ben's Bells – beautiful, ceramic wind chimes that are hung randomly throughout the community, in public spaces, for people to find and take home as a reminder to practice intentional kindness.
Game Night gave participants a chance to connect with the larger Arizona 4-H community and meet youth from other clubs.
As part of their community service projects, 4-Hers tended the garden at the Tucson Village Farm, a seed-to-table program designed to reconnect young people to a healthy food system, teach them how to grow and prepare fresh food, and empower them to make healthy life choices.
4-H member Lindy Hauser met Arizona Senator David Gowan at the Clover Ball.
4-H members had the opportunity to learn about educational opportunities and careers in the medical field.
Some 4-H Summit participants planted seeds at the Tucson Village Farm, a working urban farm built by and for Tucson's youth through Pima County Cooperative Extension and the University of Arizona.
by Faith Schwartz, UA Cooperative Extension
A sea of green in the form of high school and middle school students from around Arizona converged on the University of Arizona in late July to learn about campus, career and community from university experts and current students.
It’s part of the Arizona 4-H Summit – a program created to help 4-H youth understand how their skills and interests can lead to a career.
“This is the first statewide gathering of senior 4-H youth on campus in over 25 years,” said Nick Morris, 4-H Summit Coordinator. “During the summit we were excited to connect our youth with the University of Arizona and made sure they recognize that they are already part of the Wildcat family.”
Students ate at the Bear Down Kitchen, attended a formal dance – the “Clover Ball” – and participated in service projects at a local elementary school, the community food bank, Ben’s Bells and the Tucson Village Farm as they familiarized themselves with campus and the Tucson community.
4-Hers got to try out ‘majors’ and ‘minors’ in several subject areas, and were mentored by current UA students and professors.
“Each Summit participant got to choose a career track to explore with campus professionals, and in some cases, UA students helped lead those hands-on activities," said Schuyler Germann, a UA sophomore double majoring in pre-business and French language, literatures and cultures.
Germann is a Montana native who has been involved in 4-H since the age of 6 and represented her state as a 4-H International Delegate to Norway when she was 16. She currently serves as a young professional on Montana's 4-H International Board of Directors and is an AmeriCorps 4-H Team Leader.
“The Arizona 4-H Summit is an especially unique event because it combines leadership development with mentoring, career exploration through hands-on learning, and many opportunities to engage in being a 'Wildcat.' This was our first year for the Arizona 4-H Summit, and we are excited to start an era of campus connection for Arizona 4-Hers,” Germann said.
The 4-H program is implemented by the nation’s land-grant colleges and universities through the Cooperative Extension system. In Arizona, UA Cooperative Extension has engaged with more than 200,000 young people enrolled in county-based programs, activities and events, with agents and clubs in counties and reservations across the state.
Germann advised a group of teen leaders from across Arizona who helped lead some of the other participants. She also coordinated the event schedule, planned the digital scavenger hunt and created the event's smartphone app.
“4-H events helped me to make lifelong friends, learn from guest speakers, develop life skills and find my excitement for leadership,” Germann said. “I am passionate about Arizona 4-H teens having those same opportunities because of how impactful it was on my own life.”
To learn more about 4-H, check out the webpage at https://extension.arizona.edu/4h/home .