From the time of its birth over 100 years ago the idea of 4-H has stayed the same. The main job of the 4-H youth development program is to build skill sets for youth and their families to be productive and meaningful members of their community. The approach has been to teach in a way that is experiential, or learning in a way that is hand-on and outside of the traditional classroom.

The program formed in 1902 in Clark County, Ohio. The foundation of 4-H is credited to A.B. Graham. Many of these clubs focused on agriculture, and appropriately linked up with agricultural fairs to show their skill set to those in their community.  In 1914 the Smith-Lever act created the Cooperative Extension System through the USDA and nationalized the 4-H program.  This linked the 4-H youth with knowledge of 109 land-grant universities and over 3,000 county offices nationwide.

The history of the 4 H’s gives deeper meaning to the program’s objectives. Head, heart, hands and health are the four h’s. Through those h’s,  members are encouraged to build their skills in managing and thinking (head), relating and caring (heart), giving and working (hands), and being and living (health).

Today, 4-H has grown from its roots, to accommodate that same purpose focused on community and families. In Ohio, youth complete and learn through over 200 projects ranging from the tradition livestock, crops, cooking, and sewing to science-based technology projects such as robotics, healthy living, nutrition, and career developing projects. These projects help our nation to compete in key scientific fields to help take on the challenges of the 21^st century.

At the local level, 4-H programs are guided by county Extension professionals who recruit, certify, train, and coach community volunteers. Those volunteers (over 100 in Van Wert) work with our 23 community clubs. Some of the clubs feature special focus such as the shooting sports, dogs, beef animals, sewing, rabbits, visiting other states to learn about their programs, and teen leadership.

Taking a project through a club gives members the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with their peers, and adults.  Aside from the project members are given the opportunity to practice public speaking through demonstrations, learn how to conduct a business meeting with parliamentary procedure, and build relationships with others through respectful and thoughtful discussion and decision making.

The youth exhibiting their projects at the Jr. Fair showcase still projects in the Jr. Fair Building during the fair nestled in decorated club booths. Those exhibiting livestock get the chance to show their animal for quality of market purpose and showmanship.  One of the highlights and signature programs in 4-H is the Quality Assurance (QA) program. QA trains members on 10 good production practices that all livestock producers (both commercial and person) must focus on. Good practices produce good market animals in which the public can feel confident and safe about consuming.

4-H gives purpose to youth searching for skill development (whether they realize it at the time or not). It gives the structure for purposeful socialization of youth, as well as purposeful healthy decision making. Soft skills are often sought for in the professional world, and 4-H gives youth those skills as they mature and develop into young adults.  As a 4-H professional, my goal is to develop skills, while working hard, and having a whole lot of fun. That goal is my own professional purpose, and Extension and 4-H give me the ability to do that in the community.

The opportunity was graciously given for the Educational Technology team to visit the New Mexico State University Gaming Lab in Las Cruces. We were able to collaborate, and build projects with the group while there – but I wanted to give some heartfelt reflections from the trip to share.

1. Processing Requests for App Development: Through this opportunity I was able to see the detailed process of app development from idea, to product. Coming to the table with a complete idea in hand is a nice starting point, but in turn we all must be willing to collaborate and build off of that idea to make it even better suited for Extension audiences.
2. “The brain can only absorb what the butt will tolerate”: I found this to be a beautifully said direct quote from our collaboration sessions. The time we have as professionals to share information has grown smaller and smaller, while the need for sharing the message digitally has grown larger and larger. Making what we have to say compact, and creative is a task that the NMSU gaming lab has taken seriously, and done beautifully! There is a lot to be said for building animation, games, and apps that keep the attention of our audiences. In the past it was as long as 20 minutes, but today our viewers may only give us 2-3 minutes before we lose them.
3. Atmosphere: The gaming lab is a good example of a creative, unique, and positive work environment. The spaces were open, the layouts blended from one person to the next, and the people were friendly, open, and constantly working together. While something we often do not think about, how we work together is as important as working together itself.
4. Revisiting Objectives & Expectations: There is a constant need in any technology-based project to revisit the objectives, and the expectations of the client, or group. The reality is that we need to ask this question more often, and ensure that we are meeting both to the best ability we can. The NMSU gaming lab showed us how they communicate as teams, and work to give their best abilities to the group.