Working with youth development is not always an easy job. We devote a lot of time into educating them, and most of the times, they go with their lives and we hardly ever hear back from them. 

This year I would like to report on 2 young ladies, that in my eyes have been success stories. 

One is Mary Jane Little. Mary Jane is a native of North Carolina, and was my student in Equine Science and Management, and during her tenure as a student, she took her mandatory internship with me to help with 4-H Horse Program summer activities. She was very interested in Extension and fell in love with providing educational programs to Youth. 

After her mandatory internship, she volunteered at the 4-H state horse show for another 2 years just to continue to learn about the program. She then changed her major to CLD and became a program assistant in Fayette county after she graduated. 

Mary Jane is now a 4-H Youth development agent in Mason county and really believe in the mission of the Cooperative Extension Services and continues to help us at the State 4-H show. 

The other success story is about Jamie Henley. Jamie is a former 4-H'er from Campbell county, who was involved with the horse program from 10 years as a 4-H'er. On her last year as a 4-H'er, which was in 2016, she was High Point in the western division of the state show. In 2018, as I was searching for an intern, Jamie, who is now an Ag Economics major, heard about it and applied for it. She said she could not be happier to be giving back to a program that helped shape who she is today. She is the epitome of what a 4-H'er should be: polite, organized, willing, respectful, and successful both in her academic as well as her horse showing career. 

It has been very rewarding to see these 2 young ladies, who were involved in our program, to flourish and be successful today.