The end of the school year is near. Many La Plata County youths are buckling down to finish off strong. I suggest that students get good sleep at night, eat a healthy breakfast and stay positive and confident. In addition, I encourage parents and guardians to support youths in staying focused. Summer will be here soon enough.
The La Plata County 4-H program is very excited to celebrate the accomplishments of some of our best members. This year we were able to provide eight $500 scholarships to senior members who are completing high school and moving on to higher education. We were able to provide additional scholarships this year because of the gracious support of all our sponsors, especially Aline Randle. Thanks so much for your continued gratitude to our program.
Our eight scholarship recipients have a combined total of 81 years of being involved in the 4-H program. Most all of them started as Cloverbud members at age 6 and now are reaching the end of their 4-H career as senior members. They have shown great dedication and commitment to the program. This has allowed them to develop the life skills that have made them the young leaders they are today.
The scholarship application asked members to describe: In what ways has your 4-H experience made you a better person? Here are two responses from the recipients.
Brandon Little, who will be going on to WyoTech, a trade school in Wyoming, responded with, “My 4-H experience has changed who I am. I started off being shy and kind of following everyone. But 4-H has taught me how to speak up and take charge when the need arises. Also, 4-H has taught me how to talk and communicate better with people. Whereas before, meeting new people was hard and I couldn’t get through most of the time.”
Layne Bulwan, who will be attending Colorado Mesa University in the fall, responded with, “4-H has had a huge impact on the person I am becoming. Over the years, it has really enforced the importance of taking responsibility for things outside of me. It has helped me become not only financially responsible, but it has shown me how to really take pride in hard work and dedication. I believe that everything should be earned and not just granted to a person, and 4-H is no doubt a large part of why I think this way. I am a much more responsible, independent, caring and hardworking young woman because of the experiences 4-H has allowed me to gain.”
Other scholarship recipients were: Dakota Moore of the Mountaineers Club, Amanda Witcher of the Mount Allison Go-Getters, Shantell Smith of the Pioneers, Ashley Little of St. Columba, Sadie Yates of the Pine River, and Skkye Moreno of the Country Roads 4-H.
Recipients will be receiving their awards at tonight’s 4-H County Council meeting. We wish them all the best of luck in the future and thank them for their contributions to our program over the years.
felsengh@co.laplata.co.us or 382-6463. Greg Felsen is La Plata County 4-H youth development agent.
