N4HC: Challenge Question Revealed

With National 4-H Conference drawing ever closer, our work pace is increasing. I have just recently learned that my roundtable, of approximately 14 youth, will be presenting to the Department of Education (ED), Office of Communications and Outreach (OCO).

The challenge question that they have provided us with to answer is, “How can students take the initiative in challenging school culture so that there is a decrease in bullying and harassment and an increase in learning through productive civil dialogue? Provide specific examples of actions and drafts of any resources needed to support these actions.”

I have a conference call with my liaison, Garland Robertson, Senior Grants Management Specialist of the Awards Management Division (AMD) for National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), on Friday, January 19. On this call, I will be able to ask the liaison if he has any questions about how National 4-H Conference is run, make expectations of each other clear, and receive additional information about the Department of Education. At that point, we will then schedule a joint call between the liaison, host agency, and myself. This will offer an opportunity for me to gather resources for myself and delegates to learn from.

In addition, the lead facilitator, Dominique Germann, has been working hard on editing all of the roundtable facilitator’s biographies to send to the host agencies. Below is my final product…

---

Don’t tell this roundtable facilitator that something “can’t” be done! Emma Newell, an 11 year 4-H member from Ohio, has overcome challenges that seemed to be impossible. She has demonstrated that exercising weaknesses can turn them into strengths, that looking at problems from an original point of view grows creative solutions, and that being brave enough to step outside one’s comfort zone allows for unimagined possibilities.

Emma was challenged with a cognitive disorder called Selective Mutism. Her non-verbal body language was confident, but her silent stare made strangers uncomfortable. No one could have imagined that as a teen she would thrive in leadership roles! Living the 4-H experience, she has learned to persevere and had many opportunities to challenge herself. Today she is still challenged by 4-H!

Now, Emma’s voice is clearly heard as she serves as a National 4-H Council Youth Advisory Committee member, where she helps guide marketing campaigns and alumni engagement. She has represented the USA on an international stage at the 2017 Global 4-H Network Summit in Ottawa, Canada. Her confidence in others inspires teens and adults on the Ohio 4-H Foundation Board, where she helps make decisions about how to manage the endowment fund and youth programming.

Emma has a global perspective, with an emphasis on inclusion. She has traveled to Stockholm, Sweden where she met with 4-H professionals and discussed similarities and differences between the programs. She enjoys reaching out to underrepresented populations to encourage others to embrace the same opportunities that she found success with. She seeks out diversity because she appreciates the completeness of an organization and situations when different points of views are included.

Livestock, STEAM, and environmental science are just a few areas of 4-H project work that Emma has participated in. Although, community service is her passion. Every year she completes over 400 hours of service, mostly by training certified therapy dogs. During this training, she studies animal behavioral sciences as part of her 4-H projects. She believes that serving others is part of a well balanced lifestyle. She currently attends The Ohio State University majoring in Agricultural Communications and double minoring in Youth Development and International Studies with an emphasis on international relations and diplomacy.

Emma has found that she enjoys the discomfort of being in situations outside of her comfort zone and that she loves the sweet success of turning a “can’t” into a “can.”