4-H has definitely helped me, as far as where I am now.
I know it helped me get into school.
One of the first things they told me when they called for my college
acceptance was that they really liked seeing 4-H on people's records.
It's helped me grow as a person.
Like I said before, it helped me gain my independence.
It's definitely helped me to become a more confident person.
Going through all the activities and teams and programs that
4-H has to offer.
Pretty much now, I have the mentality of "I can do anything."
A professor gives me an assignment and I can have it
done in the next day because I've learned how to organize my time well and how to get
things done.
4-H has definitely opened doors to lots of opportunities for me, such as the
communications team, the judging team, the Eastern States team are all amazing
opportunities that I've had.
And also, just a ton of educational experiences like going to U
Maine, having tons of educational speakers come in, whether it's chiropractors or vets
or...We had Miss Maine Rodeo come talk to our club this year.
It's been a really, really great educational opportunity for me.
I'd say the biggest difference from 4-H was really the programs that they had like
the leadership conference that they did.
I went to Washington.
That was really interesting and it was quite different than what I'm used
to in Maine.
That was something that got me out of my shell and opened my horizon.
Later on, I did National Ag Day through 4-H. It
was stuff like that really broadens my horizon, I guess.
4-H has been a huge part of my life, ever since I was a small kid.
It's taught me a lot of life lessons that I've carried with
me.
It's also helped me put me where I am today, college, and helped me create my career.
Jay: In a roundabout way, you could sort of say that 4-H put me on the path of where I
decided to go to college and eventually get out and start a career.
For me, it definitely showed me what I wanted to do.
I realized I could not stay inside and work a desk job for the rest of
my life so I should probably do something that
let me go outside and do what I like to do.
It's definitely given me some opportunities to travel, definitely.
I got to go to Washington D.C. for the CWF trip and the 4-H
conference.
I've also...Getting to meet new people.
Getting out there socially.
4-H introduced me to a lot of different opportunities that I wouldn't have had elsewhere.
I grew up on a farm.
I was able to go to Georgia and also Washington D.C. to represent
the state of Maine.
I wouldn't have been able to do that without 4-H. It really gave
me the confidence to move on with my studies.
Being in 4-H has mattered most in my life as a parent to watch my daughter start
as a very shy, very quiet little girl and just grow into a very confident, able youth.
She steps up and she does what you ask of her.
She does more than you ask of her.
I'm very proud of her.
I also have a six year old.
I'm excited for him to start the journey.
My 4-H experience has been amazing.
I really enjoyed it for all four years.
Like I said, I've been able to meet some of my best
friends through 4-H. I've just had a great time with it.
It's great to be able to interact with people who are of the same interests that
I have or learn about new interests.
So yeah, I'd definitely have to say that 4-H has been an amazing experience for me.