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Everyone has the potential to change the world. Finding the spark to become a changemaker can start with connecting with those who are already leading the charge.
On Colorado State University’s newest podcast, President Amy Parsons connects with CSU community members who deeply care about our collective future. Our conversations draw parallels between our guests' exceptional work and CSU's 150+ years of world-shaping achievements. With no topic off-limit, every guest opens up about their life, shares how they are making the world a brighter place and provides helpful advice they’ve learned along the way.
So, whether you’re a long-time CSU Rams fan or just discovering Colorado State University, it’s time to hit play, get inspired, and find your energy to help shape our next 150 years. Go Rams!
Amy Parsons:
Hi, I'm Amy Parsons, president of Colorado State University and host of The Next 150 Podcast. We have so many remarkable people in our community, and this is where we're going to hear their stories, we're going to get their perspectives on CSU's next 150 years, and gather their very best advice for today's CSU students. Let's get started, Rams.
Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of The Next 150. Thanks for joining us today. It's such an honor to be here today discussing a very important organization that is integral to CSU's history and our mission, and that is 4-H. 4-H is the largest youth development organization in the country, empowering nearly six million kids. There's more than 500,000 volunteers and 3,000 4-H professionals, and that's across urban, suburban, and rural communities all across the country. That's more than a hundred years of history, which makes it one of CSU's oldest partnerships.
In Colorado alone, more than 100,000 youth are involved in 4-H programming, 10,000 volunteers in all of our 64 counties. So I'm joined today by two amazing guests. First, none other than the president and CEO of National 4-H Council, Jill Bramble, who happens to be visiting Colorado today and made the time to stop by CSU. Thank you, Jill, for being here.
Jill Bramble:
Thanks for having me.
Amy Parsons:
And we're joined by one of our very own CSU students, Ryer Roberts, a fellow 4-Her and engaged leader to talk about his experience growing up in 4-H, involved in shooting sports, livestock, among other things, and now a student here at CSU studying ag education. That's awesome. Thank you, Ryer, for joining us today.
Ryer Roberts:
Thanks for having me.
Amy Parsons:
And classes start next week.
Ryer Roberts:
Yeah.
Amy Parsons:
How are you feeling?
Ryer Roberts:
I'm ready.
Amy Parsons:
Are you?
Ryer Roberts:
I'm ready to get started and go. Yeah.
Amy Parsons:
That's great. Yeah. Well, we three all have 4-H in common. I hail from the Cloveret's 4-H Club in Cheyenne, Wyoming as a kid. I know a lot has changed around 4-H since I was in it. So Ryer, let's start with you. Tell us a bit about your experience growing up in 4-H and how you're engaged today.
Ryer Roberts:
Yeah, I had the blessing to participate in 4-H for 13 years of my life. I started as a Cloverbud in the Prime Cuts 4-H club in Fruita, Colorado.
Amy Parsons:
Nice.
Ryer Roberts:
And so I started with my very first bucket calf project and worked all the way up through woodworking and shooting sports.
Amy Parsons:
Tell us about that.
Ryer Roberts:
Oh yeah, the bucket calfs project. That was really fun. My first bucket calf named Daisy. So she was a bottle calf that we had at home and then I got to take her to the fair and show her and show her off. So that was really fun. That bucket calf project really started off my livestock career, and then I moved into hogs. I showed pigs my entire time in 4-H, and then my final four years I ended up showing beef. And so that was really fun to be able to display the projects that we raised at home and then show them off at the county fair. That was really fun.
I also got to do woodworking with my grandfather. That was really, really fun for me. Had the opportunity to send multiple projects to state and was blessed enough to win a couple times.
Amy Parsons:
Congratulations.
Ryer Roberts:
Thank you.
Amy Parsons:
That's awesome.
Ryer Roberts:
So carpentry is in my blood because of 4-H. And then obviously that leadership ability and leadership skill. I wouldn't be where I am today without 4-H because it set the scene for leadership for me all starting with a pledge leader in my 4-H club, and so starting those skills of public speaking, and the ability to see what leadership looks like. So 4-H really started it all for me and I wouldn't be where I am today without it.
Amy Parsons:
And ag education-
Ryer Roberts:
Yes, yes.
Amy Parsons:
... is your major. So how are you incorporating that into your career path?
Ryer Roberts:
Yeah. So agriculture education focuses a little bit with a kind of adjacent organization, FFA, but I think that it would be really cool to maybe bring some elementary agriculture education to the state of Colorado. They do something similar in Georgia, but having that extracurricular be 4-H and getting youth started in agriculture at a younger age. And so maybe modifying my ag education degree to work in an elementary school and be able to bring 4-H to youth across Colorado, I think is another way to get students involved. So it's just some ideas that I've been throwing around in my head.
Amy Parsons:
That's a great vision. Thanks for sharing your history with 4-H too. That's really fun. Jill, that must be kind of music to your ears to hear a student like Ryer and how they've incorporated their 4-H experience into today. So, let's talk about your 4-H experience. I understand you're fourth generation 4-H. I imagine that a lot of those generations are so proud of you to now being, like, the CEO of the National 4-H Council.
Jill Bramble:
Well, you mentioned, President Parsons, that a lot has changed, and really, as I hear Ryer talk about his experience, you brought up your club name. So much is very similar as well. I joined 4-H as an eight-year-old in the Kennedyville Blue Banner 4-H club in very rural Maryland. My family had a dairy farm they still have today. I had dairy cattle -- Peppermint Patty was my first project. But I did cattle showing, I did cattle judging, which gives you a lot of life skills in front of a judge, I did public speaking, leadership, I failed miserably at the baking and sewing. So you learn what you are good at and what you're not good at in 4-H, but I really took advantage of everything that 4-H offered to me, and tried new things, and was a leader in my club as president, and a vice president, and different officers, and a junior camp counselor, so it was really that leadership that -- it was instilled in me early and those life skills that I use still today.
Amy Parsons:
Yeah, that's wonderful. So tell us a little bit about your career path from 4-H to being the president.
Jill Bramble:
Yeah. So I had planned to go to physical therapy school and was very passionate about -- I majored in kinesiology, so nothing related to ag, but I got into nonprofit work shortly after college and just found that I absolutely loved connecting to a mission that I cared so deeply about. I was in fundraising and I realized that the more money that I raised and investors that we brought in, the more people we could reach with the mission. And so I randomly ran into the CEO of National 4-H Council 20 years ago, and 4-H was so much a part of who I was and I wanted all young people to have the same access that I had to 4-H. So I started as a grant writer, entry-level position at National 4-H Council 20 years ago, and I think it was that same spirit of trying anything.
And I just wanted to grow, and learn new things, and had wonderful mentors at National 4-H Council, and that has just led to multiple positions over time and very privileged to be in this role today.
Amy Parsons:
Well, we're glad you're in that role today and providing leadership to National 4-H, and I was privileged to see you speak at a APLU conference in June and you were up in the front of the room talking about 4-H and you asked, "Are there any presidents in the room who came from 4-H?", and I'm waving my hand in the back and you gave me this pin, the 4-H pin.
Jill Bramble:
Yes.
Amy Parsons:
So I think talking to America's land-grant institutions is really important, right? I mean, we've got this really close connection between the universities and extension and 4-H. Talk about how you're working with universities today and how you want to see us be involved in 4-H.
Jill Bramble:
Absolutely. Well, land-grant universities are the backbone of 4-H, and if you go back just for a minute to the origin story of 4-H. Universities were developing hybrid corn seed that adult farmers would not use. They saw it as university research, then they were set on doing their plantings the way they had always done it. So the land-grant universities began to work with young people, and that's how corn clubs were developed that later became 4-H clubs, and they found that young people would adopt new technology, and they used the hybrid corn seed and had mentors alongside of them, the ag educators, that showed them how to do that. They ended up growing 10X the yield that the adult farmers were, and the adult farmers looked at that and said, "Maybe we should try that new technology." So it's always been about young people being technology transfer into the future and that connection to the land-grant university education, outreach, and science.
So that still exists today, and 4-H is a pipeline to our land-grant universities, just like Ryer. Many of our land grants have opportunities on campus, I know CSU does this, where you bring prospective students as young as 10 years old in 4-H to campus so they can see themselves as a student, and I think that's important for all universities to really think about their incoming students as eight years old. It is your program that you have in the state of Colorado.
Amy Parsons:
We want eight-year-old Ryers-
Jill Bramble:
Exactly.
Amy Parsons:
... having their eyes on CSU, because our missions are very much aligned between 4-H and the university. We want students who are resilient, hands-on, hardworking, ready for the workforce coming in. So we're aligned in that. Ryer, what experiences do you see as a college student that you can still be engaged with 4-H, that it doesn't end when you leave to go to college?
Ryer Roberts:
Yeah, so I've had a couple opportunities to be involved in 4-H past my getting into college; one of those ways is Collegiate 4-H. Collegiate 4-H here on campus is really active. They're just getting restarted, and so it's starting to become a big piece of our leadership in the College of Agriculture, so, really excited for those opportunities. But also I had the opportunity this summer to go back and judge the woodworking competition, and so that was a way that I got to be involved as a leader or and a superintendent of the woodworking division in Mesa County, and so that was a really cool opportunity for me to judge those woodworking projects and really full circle, so I got to sit down with those youth and say, "Hey, this is what I like, this is what I don't like, this is what you should change. This is how to make it better."
And so that constructive feedback definitely got me where I am today, and it was cool to be able to provide that back. So being involved in 4-H in those ways are also really ways for us to jump back in.
Amy Parsons:
Yeah. I met with the Collegiate 4-H club here at CSU, and what I found really interesting, there's a lot of students like you sort of grew up in 4-H, and then there's some people who are just finding out about 4-H in college, which is amazing. They come with a roommate, maybe, or a friend who was involved in 4-H. I mean, how do you see it as a pipeline for new people getting involved in 4-H, even as college students?
Jill Bramble:
It's fabulous, and to me, it speaks to the sense of belonging that 4-H creates, and this is a place where people can discover their passions and their interests and align with mentors and peers in a very positive way, while also determining their career pathway, and exploring many different avenues. We have an initiative with Cooperative Extension called Beyond Ready, and that is an initiative to accelerate the impact that 4-H is having to many more young people, and that doesn't have to be just eight-year-olds. It really goes up to 24-year-olds that we want to make sure are finding their career pathways, whether it's college, right into career, or into the military.
Amy Parsons:
Yeah, that's wonderful, you know, you think about the pace of technology change today and social and AI and all of that. To me, that's all an argument for doubling down efforts for students to be doing things in real life, to being in the clubs, to learning hands-on activities, to being out there. Do you agree with that as a college student?
Ryer Roberts:
Totally. I think that at the base of what 4-H is, it's getting youth involved, and so it's getting youth involved using their hands, learning hard skills that they can take in life. My sister was a sewer, and so she learned how to sew and knit, and so some of our college students don't know how to fix or hem a piece of clothing, or fix something up. So those are hard skills that we're learning that you can't do with AI, and those are hard skills that we're developing in our youth, and so it's so crucial for youth to be involved in 4-H because they're learning hard skills that they'll use for the rest of their life.
Jill Bramble:
And you take that hard skill development, and the projects are a means to the end, right? So it's that lifelong learning that you get through the skill development, and pair that with the civic engagement that is so integral to 4-H: learning leadership. We see young people as leaders today, not at some point in the future, and putting young people in positions to lead a club, or lead in -- we have some young people that are on city council boards, and that brings in a new perspective for the community to have that youth voice, but it also is a practical application of that young person being connected to community. So we have 35 million alums, many are in public service. About 40% of governors are 4-H alumni.
Amy Parsons:
Oh, really? That's a great statistic.
Jill Bramble:
Yeah. They have learned to lead as early as eight years old. I'm sure you were an officer in your club.
Ryer Roberts:
I was, yes, yes.
Jill Bramble:
See?
Ryer Roberts:
Yep. Yep. I had the opportunity to climb the ranks, and then I had the opportunity to serve at a national level as well. So I served as a Colorado 4-H state vice president for a year, and then I moved on to become the National 4-H Shooting Sports Ambassador.
Amy Parsons:
What was that like?
Ryer Roberts:
That was awesome. I got to fly to Georgia. It was my first time on a plane. I was super scared, but it was awesome, and so I got to really explore what there was out there and learn how to advocate for shooting sports and advocate for shooting sports safety, and develop trainings and workshops that I could facilitate to advocate for that safety in shooting sports, and so being a national 4-H shooting sports ambassador was just a blessing, but it gave me the opportunity to grow my leadership. Like I said, I started as a pledge leader, moved to president and vice president, treasurer. I served in all those roles, but then got to climb the ladder and kind of learn and experience more because of that opportunity.
Amy Parsons:
That's amazing. We're so glad he's a Ram.
Jill Bramble:
Absolutely, and there are many more Rams that I'm sure have a similar experience, right? We did longitudinal research on the effectiveness of 4-H, and followed young people from 5th grade through 12th grade, and compared that to a peer set of other young people who were participating in other extracurricular activities and found that 4-Hers were two times healthier than their peers. They chose lower-risk behaviors and were focused on health and wellness and mental health now. They were twice as likely to pursue a career in STEM fields from hands-on learning, and they were four times more likely to give back to their community. And it is that connection to the community that is also so much a part of Beyond Ready because we know employers are saying kids aren't ready. When they get to us, they are missing some very valuable life skills, the confidence, the resilience, persistence, working on a team. And we have proof that 4-Hers have that. So, we want more 4-Hers to be at your land-grant university to be in the workforce eventually.
Amy Parsons:
Yeah, and you can add to those statistics, we know that students who come in from 4-H and have those skills persist and graduate at higher levels than other students because I think you've learned that resilience and that leadership and that ability to adapt-
Ryer Roberts:
Absolutely.
Amy Parsons:
... in new environments and learn new skills. Yeah. So thinking about 4-H and what people might perceive as 4-H, what kind of stereotypes or what do you think people need to know about 4-H that maybe they don't know?
Ryer Roberts:
Yeah. 4-H is larger than cows, plows, and sows, and so there's so much more, right? We have phenomenal indoor projects that our students that are in inner city schools or inner city communities could really participate in. We have rocketry. There's thousands of ways for students to be involved, and so I think that the stigma of this just being for rural students or country students or whatever that might be needs to go away because it's for everyone. 4-H has a place at the table for you and that's really important for students to know and youth to know, and honestly, parents to know so that they can get their students started in those communities and developing those hard skills that they learn in 4-H.
Jill Bramble:
We often say that 4-H meets young people where they are, and that is through the vast network of the land-grant university and the cooperative extension program so here in Colorado, through the support of CSU, 4-H is in every single county across the state. So a young person in Denver, or a young person in a very rural community can participate in 4-H because of that network. And the projects are that means to the end. I'm not doing anything today directly with dairy cattle, but that dairy project made me work hard, it gave me grit, it made me learn to fail and reset my goals, it gave me confidence. So those life skills are so transferable to whatever career path a young person takes.
Amy Parsons:
Yeah. Well, Jill, you're doing amazing things in this role with the National 4-H Council. What excites you most about the direction of 4-H nationwide?
Jill Bramble:
What excites me most is Gen Z. And this generation of young people, there's a very negative narrative, I feel, around Gen Z, that Gen Z is always on their phone, they don't have social skills, they are not thinking of anyone but themselves, and I see that incredibly different. I see a generation that has purpose, that cares deeply about their community and is connected to their community, they're creative, they're entrepreneurial, they're wanting to start their own businesses. They're very inclusive and understand and appreciate that we need all of us to have really great ideas, and that gets me really excited. When I'm around 4-Hers like Ryer, it's like-
Amy Parsons:
I know right.
Jill Bramble:
... a shot in the arm of we're in good hands and there is so much hope. When we grow 4-H from 6 million to 10 million, that will be a generational tipping point, so we have the ability to transform a generation into healthy, productive, and engaged, ready citizens like Ryer.
Amy Parsons:
Like Ryer. That is really inspiring. Yeah. So Ryer, next week classes start. We're off and rolling on a fall semester. This week we're moving 6,000 new students onto campus. That's happening right outside our doors here. So I'm sure that felt like just yesterday to you that you started your journey at CSU. You're a junior now, so you've got two years kind of halfway through your college career.
Ryer Roberts:
Yep.
Amy Parsons:
What advice would you have both to young students thinking about going into 4-H or maybe just starting their 4-H journey, how to get the most of it, and then also to our new students just setting foot on CSU this week?
Ryer Roberts:
Take every opportunity. I think that's really important, right? If the door's closed, open it and walk in, and just introduce yourself, be kind and make sure that you can advocate for who you are. I mean, that's how I ended up where I am today. That's how I ended up at CSU. That's how I ended up being the Speaker of the Senate for ASCSU. You'd walk in that room and make yourself known and just be who you are. And so take every opportunity and make those opportunities for yourself as you move forward, because you never know down the road when it'll circle back and you'll see someone you've met before and maybe it'll open another job opportunity, but really just take every opportunity and don't take it for granted.
Then the last thing is it goes so fast, so soak it in. It feels like just yesterday I was a Cloverbud in 4-H, and then I was a senior graduating high school. It happened so fast, and so you really need to live in the moment and be where you are. So be where your feet are and soak it all in because it goes so fast, but that's my advice to the new freshmen and young 4-Hers.
Amy Parsons:
So you're in student government as well.
Ryer Roberts:
I am.
Amy Parsons:
You're so involved on campus.
Ryer Roberts:
Yeah.
Amy Parsons:
Yeah.
Ryer Roberts:
Yes.
Amy Parsons:
Give us just a sense of what your life is like this coming semester.
Ryer Roberts:
Yeah, this coming semester is going to be a little chaotic. I'm taking 21 credits-
Amy Parsons:
Oh my gosh.
Ryer Roberts:
... so that's going to be a lot. But then I have the blessing to serve as Speaker of the Senate for Colorado State University. That is our associated student government, and so being able to be involved there and getting students involved and advocating for their wants and needs. So that's really going to be kind of the day-to-day for me, and then who knows, maybe I'll get another job to throw in there, but we'll see.
Amy Parsons:
Oh my gosh. Well, good luck with your semester. That's a lot, and we're so happy that you're a Ram. Isn't it wonder-?
Jill Bramble:
Yes, it is.
Amy Parsons:
This is really inspiring to see students like this.
Jill Bramble:
I think we need you running for office someday.
Ryer Roberts:
We'll see. We'll see.
Amy Parsons:
I think so too.
Jill Bramble:
Future governor of Colorado.
Ryer Roberts:
There we go, maybe.
Amy Parsons:
So Jill, same question to you. When you think about families in Colorado who are just wondering if 4-H is for them, let's start with that advice for those young people and families, and maybe those who aren't as familiar with 4-H, who aren't multi-generation 4-H families.
Jill Bramble:
Certainly, 4-H is for everyone, and I think if they are looking for an opportunity for their young person to explore many different areas of their interest to find what we call their spark, and align with lifelong mentors, and be able to practice leadership in a very safe place where failure is seen as growth. Starting at a very early age, we get feedback on your 4-H projects and that is kind of like a performance review that you're going to have someday in work. So I think it just helps strengthen a young person's confidence, their courage, and it gives them an incredible network of peers and friends they'll have for a lifetime.
Amy Parsons:
Yeah. And then when they get to CSU, like Ryer, then how do you feel like those students can stay involved with 4-H during their time at university?
Jill Bramble:
Well, CSU has done a great job with Collegiate 4-H and signage around campus to make 4-Hers feel very welcome. I think that's a wonderful asset. Bringing in new young people, new students that maybe weren't in 4-H, doesn't have to be an age out, graduate out. This is a lifelong journey that we all have, and at the national level, we want to encourage more alumni to come home so that they can volunteer and advocate and give back to the program that they love so much. So we want to keep all of our 4-Hers and call home many of our alums.
Amy Parsons:
So we want to partner with you in that. Our identity is as a Western land-grant institution, so this is part of our history, but it's part of our current mission as well. We're very much aligned with that and how we want to provide access to education and access to these opportunities. And then really keep people like Ryer engaged with us for life as a CSU alum, but also as a 4-H alum and giving back. So I think that's one area that we can partner. So maybe I'll end with that for both of you. This is a dangerous question, but advice for me and advice for CSU and how we can be a better partner to 4-H and support these efforts.
Jill Bramble:
I think you're doing an amazing job. You really are the CEO of Colorado 4-H. It is your program here at Colorado State University.
Amy Parsons:
From Cloveret to that.
Jill Bramble:
Exactly. There you go. And the trust that you build with local communities through the 4-H program can translate into enrollment programs and just helping young people thrive into adulthood.
Ryer Roberts:
Yeah.
Amy Parsons:
Very nice.
Ryer Roberts:
I would echo that as well and just say, you know, that's how I got here. My first time experiencing CSU is as a 4-Her going to state 4-H congress, or conference, and so that's how I opened the door to CSU.
Amy Parsons:
What do you remember about that? I'm just curious.
Ryer Roberts:
I remember walking on campus and being like, "Oh my gosh, it's so big."
Amy Parsons:
So big, yeah.
Ryer Roberts:
And I saw the college students walking around. I was like, "Oh my gosh, they're so scary," because I was little, but it really wasn't like that.
Amy Parsons:
Now, you're like, "Now I'm the scary one."
Ryer Roberts:
Yeah. Yeah. But really, 4-H, you guys opened a door for Colorado 4-H to thrive and for me to be able to see the opportunities that are here on campus, and so I would say just keep opening the door and keep meeting students where they are. The first time I've ever seen you was you talking at that 4-H conference, and so that was really inspiring for me as well. And so, just keep opening the door and making space at the table for those 4-Hers like you've been doing because it's working and it's evident it's working in the amount of 4-Hers we have here.
Amy Parsons:
That's great. That's great advice. Well, Ryer, thank you for being a Ram. Thank you for joining us today.
Ryer Roberts:
Thanks for having me.
Amy Parsons:
And best of luck with your semester and your leadership journey.
Ryer Roberts:
Thank you.
Amy Parsons:
Jill, thank you so much for spending time. It's an honor to have you on campus and in Colorado today, come back anytime and consider us to be willing and enthusiastic partners to the path that you're on in 4-H and all the great things that you're doing.
Jill Bramble:
Thank you so much. You have an amazing team here in Colorado.
Amy Parsons:
Thanks. Well, that's a wrap. Thanks everybody for joining us today. Go Rams.
Thank you for listening. I'm Amy Parsons, president of Colorado State University, and you're listening to CSU's The Next 150, where we explore what comes next for CSU by chatting with changemakers who are already leading the charge and shaping our next 150 years. I'm gathering their very best advice for today's CSU students. Stay tuned to wherever you get podcasts for our next outstanding conversation. Go Rams.