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The Minnesota 4-H State Ambassadors are role models for other 4-H'ers and they serve as positive representatives of the Minnesota 4-H program. In this podcast they will explore 4-H through interviews with other 4-H members, 4-H staff and alumni. They will also delve into different project areas and talk about State and National 4-H opportunities.
Hey, everybody. This is Cloverchat brought to you by the University of Minnesota Extension and the Minnesota four h State Ambassadors. This podcast was created to showcase all the great opportunities and activities four h has to offer. Our podcast will include stories and interviews from four h members and alumni, information about four h opportunities, and we will also chat with four h experts.
Vannah:Hello, and welcome to season six, episode six of the Cloverchat podcast. My name is Vanna, and I am a Minnesota four h state ambassador. Today, Ryanna and I will be talking with Gwyneth and Lucas, a four h agricultural ambassador, and learning more about the agricultural ambassador program. Gwyneth and Lucas, thank you for so much for joining us today. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself before we dive into our questions?
Gwyneth:Yeah. For sure. My name is Gwyneth, and this is my first year as an ag ambassador. I'm from Wright County. I'm in Monticello, and I've been in four h for about ten years.
Gwyneth:I really focus on animal showing, and sometimes I do a little bit of baking for four h projects, but I'm really excited to be here today.
Lucas:Hello. I am Lucas. This is my twelfth year in four h and my second year as a state four h Agriculture Ambassador. I've been a part of four h for my whole life with mainly showing rabbits with my family, but then also doing all the different static projects from woodworking to youth leadership and also showing horses from time to time throughout.
Ryanna:Great. Thank you so much for sharing about yourselves. Can you tell us a little bit about what a four h Agriculture Ambassadors is?
Lucas:We are a group of 27 youth throughout the state. We participate in many different events from teaching in the classroom to going to several different types of meetings and getting to interact with new people, at each of these events and also seeing people and really promoting four h to people who have been in four h their whole lives and others who are kind of new and outside of the program.
Vannah:Oh, that's so interesting. What first sparked your interest in the four h agricultural ambassador program? Why did you choose to apply for to this program specifically?
Gwyneth:Me, personally, I saw the posters for the program during the Minnesota State Fair when I was showing sheep with four H. I was specifically interested in this program because I've always been a part of the agricultural side of four H, and it's just made a really big impact on my life. It's made an impact on my career decisions and my mentors, and it's just, honestly, it's the main way I spend my time in the summer. And so I really wanted to share that passion with people, and I wanted to meet other like minded four h'ers that are also involved in the agricultural side of four h. And I really wanted to meet people from across the state and on another level of leadership that I was gonna get from the program.
Ryanna:Great. Thanks for sharing. What leadership skills have you developed through the Ag Ambassador program?
Lucas:One of the most important leadership skills I have been able to develop in the Agriculture Ambassadors Program is the ability to have good, meaningful conversations with any person about any real topic that we were discussing about. And it's really helped me, get into different positions and meet and see new opportunities.
Vannah:That's amazing. How has this program helped you grow in confidence or public speaking?
Gwyneth:I think one of the main things that this program is helpful with when it comes to confidence in public speaking is it gives you the opportunity to speak about things that you're passionate about. Most of the people in this program or all of us, I should say, are really passionate about agriculture. And so it gives us an opportunity to talk with people about agriculture, about people who know nothing about it all the way to people who, like, know literally everything about it. So it gives you that opportunity to kinda talk about things that you know a lot about and that you're passionate about, and that really builds confidence when it comes time to talk about things that maybe you don't have that passion about. And it it really gets you kinda to get out there and just talk with people you've never met before.
Ryanna:Good. I'm so glad you guys have been going out of your comfort zone. What responsibilities do ambassadors have within the program?
Gwyneth:As ag ambassadors, we go to events all over the state, and our job is kinda to positively represent the agricultural specifically side of four h, but also Minnesota four h as a whole. Some events we've attended so far have been the Ag Day Gala, the Partners in Ag Conference, the 4 H Building, at the state fair that roll out events. We've led virtual youth classes and so many more things. So we really just we attend things all over the state and virtual things. And at those events, we're we're sometimes learning things from people.
Gwyneth:We're sometimes teaching people things, and sometimes we're just there to represent the program. We're also one of the big things we're doing right now is participating in the Ag in the Classroom program, which is the statewide program where four h youth go into elementary schools to teach about agriculture. Our theme this year is beef. So that's one of the big things we've been doing. But really, our job is just to represent Minnesota four h agriculture.
Vannah:That's so incredible. You just talked about a lot of different events and things you do as an ambassador. So what would you say would be your favorite one?
Lucas:My, favorite experience as an agriculture ambassador was going into some of the classrooms. When we did the beef thing, as Gwen talked about, I went into fourth grade classes and, talked about beef and gave our little kind of presentation and our hands on activities and just seeing those kids light up when we could talk about something that was near to them or something brand new to others. That was probably my favorite experience.
Ryanna:Good. I'm glad you guys have a positive impact on the youth. Has this program influenced what you guys wanna do in your future education or career goals?
Gwyneth:It definitely has for me. I'm planning on going to school for elementary education, but I'm gonna be doing that with a focus in nature based teaching. And that's kind of been something I've developed over the past year, that idea of what I wanna do. I knew I wanted to go into teaching, but being able to teach adults and youth in this program about agriculture, it just I see how much kids relate or not relate, but how much kids just love learning about nature and about the world around them. And so it's definitely influenced me in that way.
Gwyneth:And also just meeting the different Ag Ambassadors, they all have different perspectives on what they're gonna do in life. And, like, just talking to them really influenced me. And just hearing about different colleges across the state was also really cool.
Lucas:This program really gave me a push more into the crop side of agriculture. I mainly grew up with rabbits, and I never had the opportunity to really raise big crops and everything. So it really gave me different ideas into and different sites into a world that I didn't really interact with, and it's kinda pushed me into wanting to be more to the agronomy or natural resource side of, a career.
Vannah:It's so incredible to hear how this program helped you. Now that we're are a little intrigued in it, what's the application process like?
Gwyneth:So application opens up August 1, and it closes August 31. You'll need to submit a resume, an essay, and some references in there. And then applicants are chosen in September, and your term will run from October 1 to September 30. And it's open to everyone grades 10 through 13.
Ryanna:What advice would you give someone considering to applying for the program?
Lucas:I I would say just give it a shot. New opportunities can always be fun. You're gonna learn something no matter what happens, and it's something that just it's a good experience all around. So, yeah, I would just say just give it a shot. Go for it.
Lucas:Put you out there and see what happens.
Gwyneth:Adding to that, I'll also say if you're planning on applying, make sure you apply early. It does get to be around fair time. So if you are showing, sometimes you get a little caught up and you forget. I've been there. So make sure you're just applying early.
Gwyneth:Get ahead of it, and I a 100% recommend applying.
Ryanna:Perfect. Thank you for sharing. Is there a limit of how many years you can be an agriculture ambassador?
Lucas:There is not a specific limit, but it is from tenth grade to that year after high school.
Ryanna:Perfect. Thank you so much for joining us today, Gwyneth and Lucas. Cloverchat is brought to you by the number four, the letter h, and the color green. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Cloverchat podcast. See you next time.
Speaker 1:Minnesota four h is a youth development program of the University of Minnesota Extension and is for youth in grades through one year past high school. Four Hers participate in hands on learning experiences, STEM, leadership, and civic engagement, animal science, creative arts, and so much more. To learn more about four H, visit z.umn.edu/4h.