Posted: April 22, 2021
Nine Pennsylvania 4-H teens attended the virtual event in 2021.
Pictured: all Pennsylvania delegates, chaperones, and young alumni leadership who attended National 4-H Conference.
Nine Pennsylvania 4-H'ers took another step in developing their civic engagement skills while attending the National 4-H Conference this April. The Conference, which had the theme Shaping the Future, is the pinnacle of civic engagement, by connecting youth voice to various federal agencies.
Over the course of the Conference, participants from all across the country are divided into roundtable discussion teams, which are paired with a federal agency and presented with a challenge question. The teams work together to research their topic, come up with solutions and suggestions to answer the question, and ultimately present their findings to the federal agency.
This year the Conference, usually hosted in Washington DC, was held virtually for the first time in its history, but that didn't stop delegates from having meaningful networking opportunities with their paired agency, or with each other. Each day, the event's Youth Leadership Team or web hosting company, TeamTri, hosted icebreakers, escape rooms, cooking class, and so much more that allowed delegates to relax and get to know each other. According to Christopher Petty, Program Specialist for the Division of Youth and 4-H and USDA-NIFA, 180 youth were part of the Conference.
Pennsylvania was well represented with delegates as well as recent alumni who were chosen to serve as part of the event's leadership team.
- Caleb Antram - Somerset - presented "Youth Voice" to the National Academies of Science
- Kera Bentz - Snyder - presented "Awareness of FAS Programs" to the USDA Foreign Ag Service
- Elizabeth Bruner - Indiana - presented "Addressing Community Issues" to the National 4-H Council
- Gina Bush - Elk - presented "Culture of Preparedness" to the Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Allison Emanuel - Lehigh - presented "Business Management" to the United States Census Bureau
- Amanda Hollabaugh - Adams - presented "Connect with Non-Urban Audiences" to the Smithsonian Institution
- Lily Palfrey - Indiana - presented "College Tuition" to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Alice Polcrack - Sullivan - presented "Volunteer to Career" to the Peace Corp
- Cailyn Shaffer - Venango - presented "Older Youth and Young 4-H Alumni" to the National 4-H Council
Sarah DuBrul - Westmoreland alumni served on the Youth Leadership Team
Annah Burke - Forest alumni served as a Collegiate Facilitator
The delegates reported having a greater understanding of various federal agencies; for several of them, their roundtable experience was the first time they had heard of the agency and they enjoyed learning more about the services they offer. "Youth are the future," one participant said, "we have to learn about these things sometime." Others learned that youth voice has meaning. "Our facilitator didn't tell us what to do, they let us come up with our own solutions" another said, a concept that was unexpected for her. These young people are excited to share their experience with local 4-H members.
This year's Conference planning committee involved representatives from Cooperative Extension, Susan Stewart and Associates, former Conference attendees, USDA-NIFA Division of Youth and 4-H, and the National 4-H Council.
