Grace Utecht
Post-Secondary Scholarship
My name is Grace Utecht, I am 19 years old and from Spokane Valley, and currently studying at the University of Idaho. I joined 4-H when I was 10 years old, and was in the program a total of 9 years. Throughout 4-H, I have participated in numerous projects and activities, including livestock shows, KYG (Know Your Government), livestock judging, Adulting 101, and more. During my freshman year, I went to CWF (Citizenship Washington Focus) in Washington D.C. and learned about leadership and legislation. 4H has given me more opportunities than ever thought were possible. Now that I’m older, I have been able to be a clinician for Super Saturday livestock events and I look forward to helping with livestock judging in the late spring. While in college, I have also helped run a livestock judging clinic and a lamb and goat field day event. I love being able to give back to the organizations that have brought me where I am today.
My involvement in 4-H has also played a significant role in my decision to attend a four-year university. Through 4-H, I found a passion in leadership that I have pursued. I chose to study Agricultural Sciences, Communications and Leadership. I intend to go into an administrative management position in my career, which will allow me to use the speaking and leadership skills that 4-H and a higher education have taught me.
The opportunity to interact with so many people in 4-H who have encountered different challenges has given me new perspectives and understanding. I have been extremely impacted by working with the youth at Morning Star Boys Ranch and collecting Christmas gifts for a terminally ill 4 year old. One of the greatest lessons 4-H has provided me with is how a small act of service can strongly influence lives. I continuously find myself telling others how 4-H has changed my life for the better. While in college, I have met peers who have been involved in 4-H and have gone out of their way to help others and be strong role models. In my mind, this alone proves the reach 4-H can have on youth and the community.
4-H has impacted each part of my life. It has expanded my skills in communication and ability to problem solve efficiently. My speaking skills have improved through demonstrations, presentations and I have learned to work in large groups for a common goal. My capabilities and growth through 4-H have given me opportunities that not all youth receive and I am forever grateful for the leaders, mentors, and role models 4-H has connected me to. These people have shown me what it means to give back to the community, elevate others and strive to be the best I can be. I am lucky to have made so many memories and friends through 4-H over the years and I’m eager to see where the skills I’ve learned through 4-H take me.
Haley Neumiller
Post-Secondary Scholarship
Reflecting on my first year of college so far, I can think of several ways that my 4-H years have helped me succeed both in my academics and learning how to live independently in Seattle. Even though my main projects in 4-H were horses and livestock, the skills that I have learned through these projects have been applicable to my learning in college. I am very thankful for the opportunities, skills, and leadership that I have gained through my 4-Hjourney.
Academically, my growth through 4-H in public speaking and leadership have benefitted me the most. I am naturally quiet and timid, but as I was provided public speaking practice through events such as Impromptus and Presentations to speak, I gained confidence. Leadership opportunities through my club and 4-H projects provided me with the opportunity to develop my leadership skills and learn that I do enjoy leading! As an engineering major, many of my projects and presentations have been group work, so with my leadership skills, I have been able to step up to organize and lead my group through meetings and work times. Thanks to 4-H, my strengthened confidence and leadership have supported and set me up for success through my challenging courses.
Through my horse and livestock projects, I learned work ethic and responsibility. Although I do not have animals to feed and chores to get done before school and in the evening anymore, I have gained new responsibilities to keep up with. Time-management goes along with this. Learning how to balance my schedule with homework, time for friends, exercise, and sleep can be very difficult! Creating a routine and schedule takes organization and discipline, which record books gave me the opportunity to practice. When I am organized with my assignments, exams, and schedules, I can create time to have fun and enjoy being in college with my friends which is so important!
Community service projects were a highlight and important part of my 4-H journey. Projects such as repairing fence after wildfires for a local cattle rancher and decorating the house of a sick child for the Holidays were very rewarding and eye-opening. I learned through 4-H how to seek ways to serve my community, and how much I love participating in and organizing service projects. When I moved to Seattle and my new community, I knew that I wanted to get involved and find ways to serve as I did in Spokane. I joined campus clubs and organizations that allow me to serve, which has not only benefitted my community, but me as well. I have gained community through these projects as I continue to meet amazing people and friends.
In 4-H, I never realized how many life skills I was learning and developing as I showed horses, raised livestock, and played with my friends at camps during the summers. In this big life change as I moved to Seattle and began college at the University of Washington, I am realizing how well prepared I was to succeed in my challenging academic courses and living independently. 4-H is truly a youth development program.
Peter Minick
High School Graduate & Livestock Scholarships
My name is Peter Minick. I joined 4-H about 10 years ago. I originally started in Prosser Washington which is where I used to live before moving to Spokane in early 2020. There I was a member of the Horse Heaven Ridge Riders. I am now part of the Freeman 4-H and live in Rockford. I live with my mom and dad, I also have two older brothers who have both moved out. My main project that I started 9 years ago is market swine. I moved my focus to market steers in the last 2 years but am still doing swine. When I lived in Prosser I did three shows a year and usually had one or two pigs at each fair.
Since moving to Spokane I have broadened my focus and moved to doing both steers and more leadership in my club. I always wanted to do steers and when my family got to our new place we finally had the time and room for steers, and I love to show them. I have shown and sold three steers and will be able to show one more before I graduate and go to Washington State. I still want to do something with livestock while in college and am thinking about the meat team.
I helped revive the Freeman 4-H along with my mother so that I could both have a nearby 4-H club and to help others do 4-H activities. I have hosted meetings and animal clinics at my house to help others on their 4-H journey. In the last two years I helped my 4-H club win first and second places in herdsmanship at fairs. In the last couple of years I have also done a decent number of jackpots to help improve my skill and give me the chance to compete more and teach my club members what I learned. The skills that taking care of an animal and helping lead others will be a part of me as I grow into my adulthood and become a full member of society.
In recent years the revival of the Freeman 4-H Club has been super important to me as I enjoy the chance to help others and give them the same chance I did to learn the joys and responsibilities of 4-H. The club has grown from my family and me helping people with pigs and steer to a club that hosts all animals and even a few non-farm related projects. The 4-H club is the accumulation of all that I have learned and experienced in 4-H and hope that others can learn from. As I near the end of my time in 4-H I have loved the program and it will be a part of my life that I will never forget.