Iowa 4-H Alumni & Friends

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