Will Morris
4-H Youth Development
STEM
pring has proven to be a busy time of the year with training, club visits, and summer camp preparation. My training for being a new agent have continued. I attended the Foundations of Youth Development and 4-H Program Management training which provided me with great information and resources to better implement youth development activities. I also had the opportunity to attend the STEM programing in schools’ workshop where I learned a variety of ways to facilitate programs with youth. This month was also the Kansas Association of 4-H Agents Annual Conference, which I was able to attend as well.
Spring has brought many different events for youth beyond the regular monthly meetings. Crawford county had its beef weigh in, where youth brought over 30 animals. The Southeast Kansas Showing and Fitting Clinic also took place this month with over 100 youth in attendance learning about a variety of animals. The 4-H Council met where they discussed upcoming events, fair updates, and expanding involvement.
In order to expand our Paw Print, I have spent some time spreading the word about 4-H Youth Development in the Wildcat District. I have been sending information to school administration, faculty, and staff. I have also spent some time getting involved in the community by attending the Early Childhood Collation meeting. The annual Ag-Day took place at the Girard Library where I presented on the use of Technology in Agriculture to 500 youth. The PDC meeting that took place this month provided some great insight on ways to expand and better serve the youth in the community.
One exciting turn of events is that I will be going through a “Train the Trainer” program at the Fab Lab at Independence Community College (ICC). Mandy and I have worked with ICC on a membership, which will allow me to take 4-H members to the Fab Lab on a quarterly basis. This will allow members to have amazing opportunities to work on projects, and explore new methods of problem solving in new and exciting ways.
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