leadership - 4-H Ontario

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FEATURES A FULL CIRCLE STORY What brings 4-H Volunteers back By Stephanie Craig Kim Desserre is a passionate Rainy River 4-H Volunteer who loves leading 4-H Clubs. Kim’s 4-H story is one that mirrors the story of many 4-H Volunteers; she values hands-on learning for herself and her Members. Like many other 4-H Volunteers, Kim started off her 4-H experience as a Member. Kim completed 10 agriculture Clubs, 23 homemaking Clubs, attended the Regional Conference in Thunder Bay and took part in the 4-H Canada Interprovincial Exchange. Kim was hooked on the 4-H “Learn To Do By Doing” philosophy. “Part of my love of 4-H is that it is a fun way to learn new things,” explains Kim. Kim’s enthusiasm for the program led her directly into volunteering after she graduated as a Member. Kim led five Clubs and then decided to take a break to focus on other aspects of her life, including starting a family. But like many fellow Volunteers, Kim’s 4-H experience came full circle when her children became interested in the program. Kim is now once again heavily involved in the Rainy River 4-H Association. She happily renewed her 4-H involvement when her oldest son developed an interest in 4-H. “A lot of us do it for our kids,” explains Kim, “it’s really great that some of our Volunteers have started 4-H with their kids.” Her oldest son is now 17 and her 15, 13 and 10-year-old boys have all followed in his 4-H footsteps. Great minds really do think alike! Kim has a “passion for leading” and she was happy to restore this interest by renewing her 4-H Volunteer status. Kim’s favourite part of the experience is being able to bring youth together to learn something new in a fun and engaging way. “There’s so much neat stuff to do,” Kim says. “I love 4-H because of the variety. You are always trying and learning something new. We find new things to do or do something in a new fun way all the time.” There’s so much neat stuff to do. I love 4-H because of the variety,” says Kim. Since returning to 4-H, Kim has led a variety of Clubs, her first being Take A Kid Fishing Club. She’s also tried out horticulture, sports, chocolate, veterinary and sewing Clubs, just to name a few. Kim has experienced ups and downs with running her Clubs just like any other Volunteer. One particular hurdle Kim had to overcome, which many other Volunteers struggle with, was the change in 4-H policies that required two 4-H Volunteers for the creation of a Club. Kim was skeptical about this policy at first but she soon changed her mind. “It does make the meeting run a lot smoother. I’m really glad the policy is in place now. It’s hard by yourself and it helps with crowd control,” Kim laughs. She also jokes about the occasional need for a seating plan when Members start to get “goofy”. Like Kim, her four sons really appreciate 4-H’s “Learn To Do By Doing” approach. They often have the need to be active and sometimes even “goofy”. “My boys hate to write things down so doing hands on learning is the best way,” Kim says. “They like to get outside and do social rec. They really are my barometers of project success.” If Kim hears “this is too much like school” she knows its time to mix things up to ensure Members have a good time and absorb the project material. “Sometimes you think they really are just goofing around but they will come to another project and remember what you talked about,” Kim explains. Those involved in 4-H hear time and time again that what makes 4-H special is the “Learn To Do By Doing” approach. Kim’s experience echoes that. Members learn valuable skills through their 4-H Clubs, and they have fun while doing so. Kim’s passion for learning through experience is what keeps her Clubs going and gives the Members of Rainy River a wonderful and sometimes goofy 4-H experience. Thank you Kim. Leadership In Action • Winter 2011
NEED A VET This keen 4-H’r might be the answer By Nikki Kross Lindsay Oxby is an amazing 4-H role model. At the age of 20 she competed against 461 applicants to become one of 114 first year students attending the <strong>Ontario</strong> Veterinary College (OVC). OVC is extremely competitive with 35 hours of class work a week and hours of homework a night. Even though the workload is strenuous, and courses tough, Lindsay feels confident in her skill set. She attributes her success to hard work, dedication, and her 4-H Clubs. Lindsay was always interested in animals and her veterinary career path started when she joined a Wellington 4-H Dairy Club. Lindsay’s involvement in the Club sparked a curiosity for large animals and dairy medicine; Lindsay fell in love with dairy medicine and decided to pursue this path as a potential career choice. Continuing on this exciting journey, Lindsay enrolled in the Waterloo 4-H Vet Club, which made her certain that a career in veterinary medicine was for her. “Vet Club helps you gain the background knowledge to know you want to become a veterinarian,” Lindsay explains. “You can love animals but a career as a vet may not be for you. Being able to visit clinics and be exposed to surgeries and treatments really solidifies if this career path is right for young kids.” Lindsay’s Vet Club also taught her basic animal anatomy, introduced her to diseases, and touched on x-rays. The knowledge and experience Lindsay acquired helped her gain acceptance into OVC, and it also assists her in her course work. “Animal experience is very important in the application,” Lindsay explains. “Being able to volunteer with vets and work with large animals through both the Vet Club and Dairy Club was helpful for my application. It’s also made me comfortable around large animals which is a big advantage in my classes.” Leadership In Action • Winter 2011 Lindsay hopes to specialize in bovine medicine. She believes her experience in 4-H Dairy Clubs and the Dairy Sen$e Conference, will be especially helpful for this branch of veterinary medicine. “Vets are now looking more toward maintaining health instead of treating animals that are already sick,” Lindsay says. “Learning how to maintain health is very important and having the background knowledge from the 4-H program is really going to give me an advantage for building strong client-vet relationships which will help me succeed as a vet.” This 4-H’r deserves a pat on the back for all her hard work, and come 2015, we all know who to go to for large animal veterinary care. 11
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leadership - 4-H Ontario

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