Teens are often overwhelmed with the opportunities available to them as they enter into high school.   Some may choose to take part in every experience available, whether the experience will be beneficial or harmful to the individual and their future.  As teens that have participated in the 4-H program since age 10 reach high school, many feel 4-H no longer has valuable programming to offer in advancing their learning, leadership, and future goals.  This is why it is vital for 4-H programs to develop teen based programming to keep them engaged and out of harms way.  A study conducted with Pennsylvania 4-H produced major findings that youth are more influenced to join 4-H by parents and leaders rather than siblings and friends (Gill, 2008).  Teen involvement has been on the rise in Daviess County since 2015 with nine youth attending Teen Conference in 2019.  However, after attending the conference these teens are often seen very little throughout the remainder of the 4-H program year.  As such, the Daviess County 4-H program created a Teen Board in September of 2019 to provide teens with an opportunity to advance their career in 4-H.

The Teen Board was named such as a way to show teens that this was not simply another 4-H club, rather a more prestigious opportunity offered to only teens in the county.  Gill’s Pennsylvania 4-H study also concluded that teens joined 4-H as a way to develop leadership skills and to become a leader.   Since its start, the Teen Board has assisted with decision making for the 4-H program, completed leadership training, elected officers with some serving for their first time in that role, and completed a civic engagement project.  The teens meet monthly throughout the school year and are invited to stay for the bi-monthly 4-H Council meetings to provide the 4-H Council with a program update and become informed about the decisions being made for the Daviess County 4-H program.

Beyond stepping into first time leadership positions as officers of the Teen Board, the youth have been encouraged to complete their Achievement Applications with six of the youth submitting a completed application in the fall of 2019.  One of these youth are serving in their first term as a Kentucky 4-H State Teen Council representative for District 6.  She stated that the first year of her involvement on STC has provided learning opportunities for the necessary leadership, teamwork, and career preparedness skills.  She states “STC is a great experience for anyone looking to further their leadership skills and network with teens across the state.”  She followed as the end of her first term serving that she would highly encourage anyone considering to expand their 4-H involvement to apply for STC stating “You don’t just gain skills on STC, you gain a 4-H family.”  At one of the final Teen Board meetings of the 2019-2020 school year, this individual was able to lead the club meeting as she taught her peers to complete a resume and discussed appropriate job interview etiquette.  Since this meeting, another individual involved on the Teen Board has applied for a job within our community, practicing the skills learned from this Teen Board meeting.