4-H shapes lives

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October 4, 2008

By GINA KINSLOW The Glasgow Daily Times Sat Oct 04, 2008, 12:17 PM CDT

Skyler DeGroft has been involved with 4-H since she was 8 years old.

The Barren County High School junior had watched her older brother participate in 4-H events and decided it was something she wanted to do too.

“It’s something I really enjoy and thought it would be something I’d love to do when I got older,” she said.

Skyler and her family moved to Barren County from Maryland about five years ago. She was active in 4-H there and stayed active once in Kentucky.

“I had always been a part of 4-H and I wanted to keep on showing my cows,” she said. She began showing cattle when she was 4.

Skyler is a member of the Barren County 4-H Dairy Hands. Last week, she spent several days in Madison, Wis., competing in the World Dairy Show with her Brown Swiss spring yearling named Cameron. She will participate in seven to eight dairy cattle shows this year as a 4-H’er, including the Barren County Fair and Kentucky State Fair.

Skyler said she’s learned a lot through 4-H.

“It’s taught me how to be a leader and how to be more organized and not to procrastinate,” she said. 4-H has also helped her break out of her shell and be more outgoing when she needs to be.

Her mother, Carol, said 4-H has helped her daughter become a more well-rounded individual.

“She’s gained confidence and leadership skills,” Carol said.

In addition to showing cattle, Skyler has judged dairy cattle shows, given demonstrations and delivered speeches regarding the dairy industry. She has also been active with the 4-H Quiz Bowl and is serving as a Quiz Bowl coach this year. She is also the reporter for the 4-H Teen Council, which works on projects related to topics of interest to teenagers.

Carol wanted her children to be involved with 4-H because of the values and lifeskills they could learn through it. Those are things, she said, that they can use in the real word.

Carol said her son, Jamie, who is now 32, made lifelong friends through 4-H, and she thinks Skyler is doing the same.

Through connections her son made in 4-H, she said, he was able to call on people when he was launching his career as a cattle fitter in the dairy industry.

Skyler also plans to seek a career related to the dairy industry. She once considered becoming a veterinarian, her mom said, but has since changed her mind and is now thinking about going into communications or possibly working as a sales representative in the dairy industry.

Skyler said she would recommend 4-H to everyone.

“It’s not just about showing animals,” she said. “There are so many areas that kids don’t even think about and that’s why they don’t join.”

Paula Tarry, Barren County Cooperative Extension agent for 4-H and Youth Development, said that is true.

“They can have a wide variety of project areas, including health awareness, leadership, communications, science, engineering, technology, family and consumer science and environmental projects,” she said.

Tarry has watched 4-H’ers transform from youngsters into adults through the program.

“Most of them become a lot more confident and build self esteem,” she said. “They become better communicators. We often have individuals who are in the workforce now and the employers come by and say, ‘I can tell they were involved in 4-H. .... They are willing to step up and take leadership roles.’”

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