Students Excel in 4-H Youth Leadership Program

Across the county, a select group of high school juniors participated in the 24th annual Mississippi County 4-H Youth Leadership Program (YLP) Finale on April 12 at ANC. Youth Leadership Program provides leadership and civic engagement experience for youth to gain a sense of social responsibility and to develop qualities to be a productive and contributing member of society with strong leadership skills. 

 

This year’s YLP students included 31 youth who formed project teams and gained first-hand leadership experience through a service-learning project of their choosing. They collaborated on their choice, brainstormed, planned, organized, and implemented action on their team service-learning projects. This wide array of projects included visiting and engaging with nursing home residents, planting trees on their school grounds, improving school attendance, creating after-school clubs to give children the opportunity to learn and master advanced technology, and looking at ways to address and identify causes of school violence. All service-learning projects included an educational teaching component to reinforce leadership and soft skills.

At the culminating 4-H Youth Leadership Program Group Presentation Award Luncheon, YLP participants were treated to an inspiring motivational speech presented by Luke Pruett, Foundation Director of Le Bonheur’s Childrens Hospital and Blytheville high school graduate. The YLP participants were then recognized for their participation and completion of the program with Program Certificates and First, Second and Third place Essay Award Certificates. Each student participant wrote an essay at the completion of the program and their group projects that explained how the skills they learned during the program in workshops and how completing their service-learning project impacted their lives, the lives of those they served in the community, and how it has helped them become leaders for their future careers. 

The Group Presentation team award where teams presented their service-learning projects live in front of a judging panel, was awarded to Osceola for their S.H.I.F.T. “Students Helping in Future Transitions” school project. Accumulated program points from each student resulted in Scholarship winners from Gosnell, Osceola, and Armorel.

 

Maria Cornejo from Gosnell received first place in the YLP Scholarship for $1,000. Kadan Newson and Alyssa Crafton from Osceola received second-place scholarships for $500. And Grace Glintborg from Gosnell and Blair Booker from Armorel won third place $250 scholarships. Scholarships were determined based on original essays, attendance and participation in workshops, and individual work done and involvement in completing their group service-learning project. 

 

 

 

“I am so proud of all our 4-H Youth Leadership participants again this year. Watching them work together in each workshop while they learned more about themselves, how to work together and what it means to be a good leader was extremely encouraging to see. The students that participated in this program are talented, driven and invested in their communities. Each project chosen had them working in their schools or local community to leave a lasting positive impact. They have all worked very diligently while employing the knowledge they have gained in the Youth Leadership Program, and all have shown an increase in their leadership skills. I am extremely grateful for the continued support and sponsorship of Nucor-Yamato Steel Company whose corporate-level donation makes this program possible and scholarships available annually to the winning participants,” said Neeley. 

Students and their school district who participated this year include Blair Booker, Ryleigh Culp, Anna Loyd, Audrey Payne, Shyanne Stallings, and Gracie Tillman from Armorel; Shamari Cooper, Gatsby Langston-Brown, and Daniel Lira from Blytheville; Nathan Cannon, Maria Cornejo, Grace Glintborg, Bayli Green, Sebastian Lara, and Parker Wells from Gosnell; Andrew Barks, Eboni Brown, Caitlin Cole, Ryan Frazier, Haley Harvey, and Samuel O’Neal from Manila; Alyssa Crafton, BreAnn Fultz-Foster, Damia Grice, and Kadan Newson from Osceola; and Abigayle Baker, Hayley Gore, Jered Robertson, Marcus Slayton, Mercuriah Vance, and Lexus Willwerth from Rivercrest. 

 

For more information on how to sign up your class or child up for 4-H activities such as the youth leadership through the Mississippi County 4-H program, contact the Cooperative Extension Service at 870-563-0236.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Kamella Neeley is a County Extension Agent-4-H with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service in Mississippi County. She can be reached by email at kneeley@uada.edu