"4-H gave me leadership opportunities at a young age when there were very few leadership opportunities for females. It gave me the courage to take my project from the little town of Cherry Valley to the Illinois State Fair."
Northern Illinois University, B.S. in Business Education
St. Xavier, M.S.E.
Retired Teacher
Favorite 4-H Projects: Sewing and Participating in Club Softball Team
Did any of your 4-H project skills, experiences or connections help prepare you for your career path?
I think it's even bigger than just my career path. 4-H helped to prepare me for success throughout my life. Every year we picked an individual topic and did a demonstration in front of a group. This challenged me to gather information, make it relatable to the group that I was presenting to and stand up in front of a group to present. I didn't have this opportunity at school, so 4-H provided that platform for me. In fact, thinking back, I'm not sure if I would have been comfortable teaching 100s of students each day without this experience! 4-H also provided me with a mentor, Mrs. Nelson. She was sweet, kind and worked with me 1-on-1 on my sewing projects. When you grow up in a family of 6 kids there is not a lot of individualized attention, so 4-H mentorship provided that opportunity. In business education, there were students with special needs integrated into my classroom. The greatest part of teaching was working with these students who recognized that they could be successful learning the life- skill of typing. I appreciate Mrs. Nelson for teaching me the value of mentorship and individualized learning.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to enter your career path?
Everyone knows what teaching is because we all go/went to school. Learn from your experience in the classroom what you like and don't like and what translates and left an impression on you. While student teaching is valuable; it comes too late in the process. Shadow teachers at a young age. It is never too early! For me, it was really important to pick a subject matter of expertise and relatable age group. I never taught K-5 because I enjoyed working with middle school and high school students who were starting to think about their career path.
What did you learn through 4-H that benefits you today?
Looking back, 4-H is very kinetic, especially the sewing curriculum. I went on to a career in business education, with an emphasis on teaching kids the life skill of typing. When I sit down and think about it, maybe my years of 4-H sewing drew me to teaching a skill using my hands. Growing up in a very small town, I was not surrounded by a large community. 4-H provided a safe and nurturing community and an understanding of how important it is to be a part of a community/communities. As a business education teacher, I had the opportunity to work with co-op students who would leave school and work for a local business. I thought it was so important that these students get out into the community and meet the people who run small to mid-sized businesses and how they serve the community.
How did 4-H contribute to your leadership skills today?
4-H gave me leadership opportunities at a young age when there were very few leadership opportunities for females. It gave me the courage to take my project from the little town of Cherry Valley to the Illinois State Fair. It really opened my eyes traveling to Springfield. While a ribbon seems simple, receiving them was a boost to my confidence and made me feel like a leader as a young adult. In 4-H I learned to set goals, work towards achieving those goals and understand that receiving a ribbon, no matter the color, was recognition of my leadership.
What advice would you give a current 4-H member?
Seek out ALL the opportunities that exist (there are SO many). Try new things. Challenge yourself to get involved in 4-H beyond the local level, which can provide even greater and more diverse opportunities.