The nationwide 4-H youth development program has been around for more than 100 years. The four Hs stand for head, heart, hands and health—the values that 4-H members work on developing through clubs and activities.
Moab’s 4-H program is administered through the Grand County Utah State University Extension, and invites local high school students to check out two new clubs starting this winter: Uniting Cultures and Folklore. Uniting Cultures will explore different cultures and connect with 4-H clubs from other states, while the Folklore club will learn cultural dances from different regions. Tuition is just $10 for the year, and can be waived for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch; the clubs meet after school and are open to anyone interested, including students who primarily speak Spanish.
“We want to make sure that parents and kids know they will have help in Spanish too,” said USU’s Maria Jose Velasco Burgos, noting that leaders for the two new clubs are bilingual.
Velasco is the home and community assistant professor at Grand County Utah State University Extension; she is also the Cultural Belonging program director, and the co-director of the Create Better Health Latino program. Along with those roles, she also supports Grand County’s 4-H program, and has been promoting 4-H and recruiting more participants since she got involved last fall.
Developing leaders
Part of the 4-H mission is to develop youth leadership skills. That’s one of the goals of Teens Reaching Youth, a 4-H program through which high schoolers absorb a curriculum and then teach what they learned to youth in their own communities.
The Teens Reaching Youth team, left to right: Nerenly Ayari Garcia, Jason Lemus, Amalia Alvarez, Maximo Manuel, TRY team community liaison and chaperone Maricela Vargas, Grand County USU Extension faculty Maria Jose Velasco, Camila Alvarez, and Alexa Maldonado
Local 4-H students Nerenly Ayari Garcia, Jason Lemus, Maximo Manuel, Camila Alvarez, Alexa Maldonado, and Amalia Alvarez formed a TRY team for Grand County, and traveled to Richfield for a day-and-a-half-long workshop covering a curriculum titled “The Road to Happiness and Meaning.” The course covered topics like coping with emotions, understanding identity, and self-care and knowledge.
“Youth have a unique way of connecting,” said Marcie Vargas, who helped chaperone the TRY team on their trip to Richfield. “We just showed them a pathway.”
The students have committed to six hours of teaching elements from that curriculum to youth in Grand County. They’re partnering with high school teachers to bring lessons to the classroom, and also offering some workshops at the USU Moab campus, outside of school hours. They’ll begin sharing their lessons this fall and throughout the winter.
Vargas is the health equity specialist at the Southeast Utah Health Department and volunteered as the community liaison for the local TRY team. She believes in the program.
“It is essential that these programs are available and inclusive for our communities, ensuring that our youth have every opportunity and access to higher education,” Vargas said.
Local 4-H students distinguished at national conference
This past summer, four students who participate in 4-H in the region became the first to represent Utah at an annual conference in Washington, D.C. held for over 20 years by the True Leaders in Equity Institute. Participants receive leadership training and explore careers, and some of the students are invited to share knowledge, skills and culture from their own backgrounds.
4-H students (from left to right) Lacy Joe, Logan Joe, Maximo Manuel, and Jason Lemus, along with chaperone Maria Jose Velasco Burgos (right), at the True Leaders in Equity conference. [Courtesy photo]
Jason Lemus and Maximo Manuel from Grand County High School, Lacy Joe from San Juan High School in Blanding, and Logan Joe from Whitehorse High School in Montezuma Creek, chaperoned by Velasco, traveled to Bethesda, Maryland and Washington D.C. to attend the conference and give a 45-minute presentation.
“It was their first time, for some of them, leaving the state, flying in an airplane,” Velasco said.
This was the first year that Moab and Blanding have sent representatives to the conference. The students gave their presentation two times for other youth attendees. Because they were speakers, the four each received a scholarship to attend. There were 150 high school students attending the five-day conference, and they could choose which presentations to participate in; Velasco said the presentation from the Utah students was the most popular event.
They incorporated Navajo and Spanish language-learning in their presentation. Logan Joe demonstrated roping, an activity special to him, his family and his heritage. Lacy Joe discussed the Navajo medicine wheel, and how it’s used to maintain balance in one’s life and identity. Lemus and Manuel shared Loteria, a Mexican game similar to Bingo.
“They did amazing; people were way impressed,” Velasco said.
Lemus told Velasco that while presenting was intimidating, it was also rewarding.
“Presenting in Washington, D.C. was a moment I’ll never forget,” he said. “At first, I felt a wave of panic standing in front of so many people, having never spoken to such a large crowd before. But the audience’s cheers and support were incredibly uplifting. It turned out to be an amazing experience and a fantastic opportunity for all of us.”
In addition to presenting, hearing talks and taking workshops led by other students and by adult leadership figures, the students explored the U.S. capital, visiting national monuments and museums and even getting special after-hours access to the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum.
Manuel described the visit to D.C. as “thrilling,” telling Velasco,
“The place was full of amazing sights, like the Space Museum and the prehistoric animal exhibits, where we saw their bones and shapes. We also visited monuments and the graves of those who died in World War II, filled with so much valuable history.”
On their way home, the students also spent some time in Salt Lake City, where they had breakfast at the University of Utah and talked with director of Utah Area Health Education Centers Dr. Ivette López. Preparing students for college and careers, as well as teaching social and life skills and promoting a culture of belonging, are all goals of the 4-H program.
Velasco said 4-H Moab is still actively looking to enroll more kids and establish new clubs. Currently clubs cover a wide range of interests, including horsemanship, baking, model rockets, and more.
To get more information about 4-H opportunities in Moab, contact Ashley Durlach-Kondos (for information in English) at a.durlach-kondos@usu.edu, or Maria José Velasco Burgos (para información en español) at maria.velascoburgos@usu.edu.
