At the beginning of Akrosec School’s first ever 4-H meeting, the club president stood in front of a small gathering of students in the dining hall and pounded a rock on the table to call the meeting to order. With shaking hands, but courageous voices, the seven club officers delivered their opening ceremony parts and guided the meeting through the carefully planned order of business. After the meeting had been adjourned, I ask the officers to gather around. I looked at their very focused and serious faces and simply said, “I am proud of you.” Immediately, all seven faces broke into huge smiles.

Helping my school establish a brand new 4-H club has been a favorite part of my job this year. I work closely with the seven high school students who were elected as club officers this term. Since 4-H is new to all of the students and teachers here, I met with the officers multiple times before the first club meeting, in order to explain the basics of 4-H and prepare them for their first student-led meeting. It did not take me long to discover that I was working with seven exceptional students; they were eager to learn about 4-H, optimistic about the future of their club, and determined to make the first club meeting a success.

After that first meeting, I realized that many of these students live in a world where punishment for failure is given out far more often than praise for hard work. Every week I spend with students, I witness the powerful effect you can have on a young person just by encouraging them and telling them you believe in their future. Fortunately, that is what this year is all about and I look forward to seeing many more smiles on student faces in the future!