The 99^th Annual Kentucky 4-H Teen Conference was held at the University of Kentucky June 13-16, 2023. Boyle County 4-H had 7 youth participating.  The objectives of Kentucky 4-H Teen Conference are: develop leadership and teamwork skills, improve communication skills, foster civic engagement, expand knowledge and skills related to 4-H core content areas, gain club, county and state 4-H program skills, have fun, create a sense of belonging, expand social skills through networking, develop youth-adult partnerships, and become acquainted with the University of Kentucky to aid in college and career readiness of Kentucky 4-Hers. 

 In total, 544 individuals at Teen Conference visited the University of Kentucky campus: 428 youth and 116 adults from 81 Kentucky counties. All youth participated in a UK recruitment session and received academic exploration materials from the Martin Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Center for Student Success Youth were provided with an evaluation following the conference where they were asked about their plans after high school. Of those that responded, 77% showed an interest in attending the University of Kentucky and 25% were interested in learning more about Agriculture. Ninety percent of youth responded positively about the conference this year. Of those that responded, 64% attended as first year members, 25% as second year members and 11% had attended the conference for 3+ years. To capture the progressive experience youth were also asked about their previous involvement in 4-H and of those that responded 81% attended 4-H Camp, and 38% attended 4-H Summit. 

 In addition, participants engaged in five hours of leadership development and service learning. All youth participated in a mentorship workshop led by a youth-adult facilitation team. 4-H collaborated with over 25 community serving organizations to engage in three hours of service work. These efforts supported local service organizations and empowered 4-Hers to think about their ability to impact change in their community. 

All seven local youth indicated they would attend the conference again in the future if possible.  All indicated they acquired information they would use in planning their college and job careers, gained skills they planned to use in the future, and had aspirations of completing achievement paperwork to enhance their ability to earn funds for college.