Iowa 4-H Alumni & Friends

Name: Jay Staker Current Position: Extension Youth Development Specialist - 10 years. Hometown: Woodward, Iowa Education: Undergraduate degree in Zoology with an emphasis in Fresh Water from Buena Vista. Masters degree in Science Education from Iowa State University. Past Work Experiences: Worked on the Meat Processing Team for Oscar Meyer. Taught high school science in Ballard for 25 years. Hobbies: Fishing, reading, writing, biking, and woodworking. Ultimate Goal in 4-H: To assist in making 4-H viable in the 21st century and better serve our youth. Jay works in the Extension office here at Iowa State and is the title director for E-SET and the associate director for Education for the Iowa Space Grant Consortium. His roles support science education for children in Iowa, developing partnerships for science outreach and funding development. He also tries to stay current with technology while working with the Iowa Youth Technology Team. When asking Jay about his job he...

Name: Mitch Hoyer Current Position: 4-H Youth Development Program Specialist Major Responsibilities: Policy and Risk Management and Educational Design and Delivery. Hometown: Latimer, Iowa. 4-H Member for 9 years. Education: Two B.S. degrees from Iowa State University in Animal Science and Agricultural Education. Completing Masters Degree at Iowa State in Agricultural Education and Studies in 2011. Past Work Experiences: High School agriculture teacher/FFA advisor in Sac City, Iowa (1981-1986). Seed Sales Specialist in Cenex/Land ‘O Lakes (1986-1989). Iowa State Extension (1989 – Current). Hobbies: Attending ISU sports and cultural events, golf, reading, gardening. Trying to become a better cook, have lots to learn, enjoy experimenting with new “rubs” for meat cuts. But compared to the people on the TV show “America’s Worst Cooks, I could be the next Emeril. Ultimate Goal in 4-H: To do whatever I can to promote Program Policy. When I first started talking with Mitch h...

4-H Center After working with 4-H Extension for the past three months my views on the organization have changed a lot. I remember stating that I originally thought 4-H was for farm kids, but I was beginning to realize all of the opportunities available to youth. However, I had no idea what I was about to learn and the experiences I was about to get. As you can see from my previous blogs I have met with and gotten to know many of the staff members. My interviews with them have been wonderful and they have really helped me understand each aspect of the programs and how much really goes into the success of Iowa 4-H. It has been incredible to see how hard people work and the amount of determination they have to better the organization and give youth the best opportunities possible. While all of my experiences this semester have been great I really enjoyed visiting the 4-H center. The center made me feel energetic and happy and it got me excited that there are still camps like t...

Name: Brenda Allen Current Position: Extension Program Specialist/4-H Youth Development Hometown: Montezuma, Iowa Education: Undergraduate degree in Social Studies Secondary Education. Master’s degree in School Counseling from Iowa State University. Past Work Experiences: Iowa 4-H Center, National 4-H Center, Teacher for 2 years in Albia, Iowa. Hobbies: Volleyball, biking and Ragbrai, reading, church, going to basketball games. Ultimate Goal in 4-H: To help make stronger young people and stronger communities! Brenda Allen has been working with 4-H for 11 years now but has been involved in 4-H her entire life! She says that 4-H had an impact on her development and leadership skills and she is so thankful she got such significant experiences growing up. She even went to Norway with the International 4-H Youth Exchange for 6 months! She lived with five different families and got to experience a different culture and a different way of living. Brenda works with the 4-H ...

I spent Thanksgiving Break with my dad in Colorado Springs, Colorado a couple of weeks ago and it was an excellent trip! Not only did I get to eat great food, see family and go hiking in the mountains, but I got to go visit with faculty in the El Paso County 4-H office! I have had such a wonderful semester with Iowa 4-H and have learned a lot so I thought it would be interesting to see what the 4-H program is like in Colorado. While there I spent most of my time with Jonathan Vrabec, the CSU Extension Agent. There are tons of projects and clubs to join their as well, and it is very similar to Iowa. However, wilderness and hunting are two of the popular areas they are involved with. They do not have big state fair like we do so most of their showcasing happens at their Youth Conference in the summer. One thing I noticed was that just like here in Iowa the adults and volunteers are so passionate and truly care about the youth. It is amazing to see how much work people put in...

Name: Marisue Hartung Current Position: Youth Program Specialist Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska Education: Undergraduate Degree in Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Master’s degree in Social work from the University of Iowa. Past Work Experiences: Worked as a VISTA volunteer, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, The Boys and Girls Club, and the public radio station WOI. Hobbies/Interests: Walking, visiting friends, reading and listening to books while traveling, gardening, and going to sporting events. Ultimate Goal in 4-H: To continue learning about 4-H and to help the counties have the best opportunities so that youth can continue to learn and grow! Marisue Hartung has been working as the Youth Program specialist for Jasper, Mahaska, Marion and Poweshiek counties for almost 5 years. She has a long background in youth development and strongly believes in helping kids become leaders. While talking she mentioned that after working with other programs she liked that 4...

Name: Abbie Parker Current Position: Program Specialist (4-H Center) Hometown: Fort Dodge, Iowa Education: Degree in Communication Studies with a minor in Outdoor Education from Iowa State University. Past Work Experiences: Worked at Geneva Point Shire, a camp in New Hampshire for two years. Camp counselor and Intern for the 4-H Center from 2004 to 2007. Hobbies/Interests: Hiking, kayaking, sports, working with youth! Ultimate Goal in 4-H: To get every 4-H member to attend the 4-H Camp in the summer! I went out to the 4-H center and had the chance to visit with the Camp Director, Abbie Parker. We walked around the camp and I got to see a few of the different villages and cabins. I was pleasantly surprised by how large the center was. There was so much land and it was obvious that there are tons of things to do and so many opportunities for kids to participate in during the summer. Abbie highlighted on the fact that there are 25 specialty and combined camps. There a...