All across the country, there are nearly six million youth taking part in 4-H with 200,000 being in the state of Illinois. As the largest youth development organization in the United States, 4-H challenges youth to grow their potential through a variety of different project areas. 4-H Youth Development Educator Shelby Carlson says there is so much talent within the youth in 4-H, especially here in Illinois.
“The best way I can demonstrate this is my parents were recently judging at the Illinois State Fair in the 4-H building, and my dad had been plagued with this problem. He had a small ATV-type vehicle that wasn’t running smoothly and he was still trying to figure out what he was going to do,” said Carlson. He was judging that small engines project and this young kid, he says he was about ten, came up and was telling him about his project and what he had done to get that [engine] going. My dad asked him a question and he said ‘No you don’t need to tear the whole thing apart this is what I did’. Dad kinda stopped, and that night he turned and looked to my mom and said ‘That ten-year-old told me what that problem was.’”
Carlson adds that there are over 80 4-H project areas in Illinois, meaning there is a place for anyone wanting to pursue their passion.
