Franklin County 4-H Cover Girl!

By Connie Gerow, 4-H Tribal Mentoring Coordinator

How often can one say, Franklin County Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) 4H program has their very own cover girl? The answer, we have at least one! The Franklin County CCE 4-H program is proud to share that one of our 4-H youth, Ms. Diondra Dyer from Fort Covington, NY not only graces the cover of the Cornell University Fall 2015 Human Ecology Departments magazine, she is also featured in the "center fold" article by Sheri Hall: Lighting a Fire: 4-H programs spark New York youth to pursue STEM careers and higher education.

Many thanks to a Cornell University on campus Summer Pipeline Scholarship that was offered by Cornell's Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives that works in tandem with the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translation Research (BCTR) is the reason why Diondra was able to attend and spend a portion of her summer on the campus at Cornell University participating in a conservation medicine curriculum, studying the health relationships between humans, animals, and the environment.

In the article, Diondra credits 4-H with giving her opportunities to explore her interests and confidence to pursue her dreams. She states, "Before 4-H, I was basically the go-to-school-and-come-home-kind of kid. Now I'm involved in so much, and I wouldn't change a thing." In addition, Dyer shares "I have always wanted to go into the medical field, 4-H showed me I can help people in so many ways – physically, mentally, emotionally. Growing up, I didn't know how to vocalize my opinions, and I didn't imagine I would have many choices."

Needless to say, this is exciting times for many New York State 4-H Youth. The 4-H program is housed the confines of the Human Ecology's BCTR department at Cornell University. Here researchers are partnering with 4-H Community Educators to develop programs, test new ideas in youth development and measure outcomes. According to Elaine Wellington, who is acting director of the BCTR, "BCTR is a natural place for 4-H. Part of the process of translating research is to have faculty interact with practitioners on the ground to co-develop new projects. Connecting with 4-H and its programs provides opportunities to benefit many more New York youth by allowing researchers to learn from 4-H and also helping 4-H to improve its programs."

Here in Franklin County CCE 4-H program, we are happy to share Diondra Dyer's unique opportunity and experience. Her involvement in 4-H is through the 4-H Tribal Mentoring Youth and Family with Promise (YFP) program at Salmon River Central School where she is a 12th grade student and mentor. YFP is a federally funded grant opportunity provided by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention program to the National 4-H Council for which CCE of Franklin County was awarded a portion thereof. Since her involvement, Diondra has seized the opportunities and has not looked back.

In the final paragraph of the featured article, Lighting a Fire: 4-H programs spark New York youth to pursue STEM careers and higher education, Diondra shares that her Summer College experience opened her eyes to the freedoms and the responsibilities of going away to school. She says, "4-H is everything from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to mentoring to livestock. Anything you can think about or desire, 4-H can help you do it."

For more information about how one can become involved with 4-H in Franklin County, one may call the CCE office at 518.483.7403 or visit our website at http://franklin.cce.cornell.edu/.