Nebraska Extension has long supported 4-H in the state and understands the importance of growing the organization to focus on more than cows and plows.
By Jane (Menninga) Schuchardt (’74)
Illustration by Jonathan Bartlett
As summer rolls out in Nebraska, 4-H kids begin prepping their county fair entries — and, if all goes well, they will advance to the state fair in September. That said, the quaint image depicted in Norman Rockwell’s iconic painting, The County Agricultural Agent, does not encompass the entirety of the organization today. 4-H is changing as it continues to honor its storied past and the University of Nebraska’s Cooperative Extension Division plays a key role.
In fact, the university believes in 4-H so strongly that when 4-H youth enter 8th grade they are pre-admitted to UNL. In order to complete their admission to Nebraska they must retain 4-H enrollment through high school, complete the Next Chapter program and meet university entry requirements. This spring, 705 8th graders received pre-admission letters to the Next Chapter program inviting them to participate in career choice and college readiness educational opportunities throughout high school.
Being the front door to the university all across the state is the responsibility of Nebraska Extension, explains its dean and director Chuck Hibberd, and one way that is accomplished is through 4-H, which he describes as “the youth development program of the university bringing science-based education to young people in creative ways.”
Each summer the campus hosts weeklong Big Red Summer Academic Camps bringing youth to the university to interact with faculty on specific topics such as culinary arts, filmmaking, entrepreneurship, engineering and weather and climate science.
Both Michael Zavodny, a junior from Malcolm, and Andrew Roberts, a senior from Omaha, attended summer film camps and are now working on majors in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. “We got to shoot and edit a one-minute movie and the whole camp was a blast,” Zavodny says. Roberts echoed that sentiment, “at the camp, I also met three amazing people who have come to be some of my best friends. We started a film company together called O-City Films.”
Chancellor Ronnie Green says Nebraska Extension continually evolves to meet the educational needs of citizens to solve problems based on sound science. “Compared to others across the nation, we’re a leader in programming, especially with 4-H. No other state has as high a membership rate,” he said. “4-H is not just cows and plows anymore, though agriculture continues in importance. It’s now also STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), robotics, nutrition education and more.”
Nebraska Extension, along with 4-H, started in 1914 with the passage of the Smith-Lever Act establishing Cooperative Extension as a formal part of land-grant universities. Since its inception, the foundation of 4-H has not faltered. Its goal of positive youth development is based on the essential elements of belonging, independence, mastery and generosity.
The approach follows the 4-H slogan of “learn by doing” which consists of encountering, sharing, processing, generalizing and applying. This experiential learning model energizes volunteers and Extension professionals to prepare youth for a successful adulthood.
The 4-H motto to “make the best better” emphasizes improvements in head, heart, hands and health, the four H’s in the emblem and pledge.
Programs are designed to help youth become strong leaders and address at least one of the following: college and career readiness, community development, entrepreneurship, food supply confidence, healthy living, leadership development and STEM.
The initial intent of 4-H was to instruct rural youth on farming and homemaking skills, but the organization in Nebraska offers much more today. Experiencing the bustle of pride, sweat, manure and grandeur of a county fair, and for some, the catapult to tougher competition at the Nebraska State Fair. However, today’s 4-H focuses on preparing youth to be successful leaders in many more areas.
Tracey Jones, a 4-H alumna, volunteer and parent, knows this well, since her family has been involved for four generations. “My father worked with 30 kids to show sheep,” she said. “Today, members communicate using social media, use computer software for presentations, participate in robotics competitions, learn about entrepreneurship and get exposed to career options.” She’s so invested in her 4-H commitment that she has a separate building (technically a barn shared with her husband on their Omaha acreage), where she leads a 4-H club, brings in guest speakers and gives urban members a chance to understand agriculture. “I’ve watched shy 4-H kids change into bubbling, powerful communicators. City kids learn where their food comes from and leadership skills get developed,” she says.
Another more recent change has been the move of 4-H into urban areas during the last 10 years, says Kathleen Lodl, state 4-H program administrator. Nebraska 4-H participation grew 13 percent during the past 10 years, with a 5 percent increase in urban participation. With the goal of reaching one out of every two age-eligible youth, an emphasis in urban and suburban localities will continue; but, as Director Hibberd readily points out, “not at the expense of providing 4-H access to youth in rural towns and on farms.”
While needs assessment and program implementation at the local level is the basis of Extension, including 4-H, the statewide connection comes through the Nebraska Extension offices on the university’s East Campus. Nebraska Extension is administratively housed in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources with strong program alliances to other University of Nebraska colleges and academic units. Nebraska 4-H is connected nationally to more than 100 land-grant universities in the United States.
Nebraska 4-H continually leads the way with 4-H nationwide, which boasts a total membership of 6 million. In late 2017, 4-H National Youth Science Day featured Incredible Wearables as the science challenge for thousands of youth participants nationwide. Developed by Nebraska Extension through a nationwide competition, the program challenged youth to use engineering design protocols to develop a wearable fitness tracker leading to healthier lifestyles.
With its one-in-three enrollment, Nebraska Extension beats the national goal to grow membership to one in five age-eligible youth. Nebraska 4-H also is a leader in science and technology education with multi-million-dollar grants from the National Science Foundation and others.
Both Hibberd and Lodl agree 4-H must continually change to meet the needs and interests of contemporary youth. “We need to take 4-H to youth where they live. We need more opportunities for youth living in urban settings, youth from diverse backgrounds, first generation 4-H youth and really innovative ways to engage,” Hibberd said.
The organization is doing just that. Nebraska Extension has created a mobile science lab that travels to neighborhoods in north Omaha where youth learn the relationship between DNA and food in a hands-on experience.
Lodl said a program called WearTec has drawn increased interest, as well. More than 800 youth have been engaged in the Nebraska Wearables Technology project. A program called Connecting the Dots reached more than 1,300 youth wishing to make decisions for their future. One-third of participants reported that the program helped them learn about a college that will be a good fit for them.
Hibberd insists Nebraska needs 4-H. “It provides experiences for young people to help them grow to be caring and competent adults,” he said. Every day 4-H administrators, educators and volunteers work together to grow new leaders for Nebraska. “From science to leadership to career and college readiness, there’s something for everyone,” Lodl said.
If artist Rockwell were around today, he would need to include career readiness, robotics and wearable technology in his 4-H painting, something hard to imagine when his illustration appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in July 1948. From cows to computers, volunteers and Extension educators are on a mission to grow new leaders and adapt to current society. Our future depends on it.