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Young leaders in every industry are using their voices and stories to create a legacy of success and inspire the next generation. Kyle Bridgeforth—partner at the fifth generation Bridgeforth Farms—is lending his voice and passion to the advancement of diversity in agriculture.Here’s how the Alabama 4‑H and Morehouse College alumnus is helping his family’s farm thrive.Where did your 4‑H experience begin, and describe what that experience was like for you in your community?

Kyle Bridgeforth (KB): I went to a small school in Alabama where a 4‑H leader would visit every month or two to show us projects. Outside of the classroom, the 4‑H program would take us to tree farms and other outdoor activities. Although I grew up on a farm, I experienced agriculture with my classmates in fun ways.

Share how your experiences or the skills learned in 4‑H influenced or guided your career path.

KB: Growing up on a farm and being involved in agriculture was the guiding light for my entire career. I learned that being outdoors and being engaged in the community are passions for me. I wanted those experiences to be a part of my career and lifestyle. Participating in 4‑H gave me a project-based mentality. Before I start the process of growing a crop, I’m thinking about the end goal rather than just the goal at hand. With my 4‑H experience in mind, I start a project and see it through.

When beginning my career journey, I had multiple career opportunities and jobs before I settled into farming. In college, I interned at a bank. I later worked in Washington, D.C. for the United States Trade Representative, where I worked on the agricultural side of free trade agreements. Then, I found myself back in farming. I give 4‑H and the farm I grew up on credit for that.

Who were some of your influences or mentors growing up?

KB: I’m blessed and fortunate to be a fifth-generation farmer, so our family’s history was something we talked about every day. From the first generation to the fourth generation post-slavery, I heard stories about what farming was like for all of those generational experiences. I learned about our second-generation’s goals of going to college and growing a business during the Jim Crow era. Those stories influenced my perspective on farming and work life in general.

My family is my community, and they are great examples for me. In popular media, Martin Luther King is a huge influence for me. Although he’s someone I never met, I went to Morehouse College because of his legacy and how much he impacted me at a young age.

In a 2019 New York Times article, your uncle stated of your grandfather: “His goal, and his father’s goal, was to do everything they could do to keep the land and pass it on to the next generation better than they found it.” Talk about what that statement means to you as a fifth-generation farmer. 

KB: Well, I think it’s a great reminder that in all things, the first step is to survive and make it to the next year. It was a large and ambitious goal, and that mindset still sticks with me today. While it may not be as dire now as it was back then, we try to keep that mentality. Yes, it’s a business and a farm. But we always take an ethical, moral approach to the work that we do. When dealing with land, the decisions you make today will affect you for the next ten years. So we always have a long-term approach, and the decisions we make naturally flow into our lifestyles. I’m always looking ahead. And that’s a great example set by early founders of the farm.

How do you keep your son in mind? What are you doing today to prepare your son to fill your shoes and those before you? 

KB: Well, it seems that after I had a kid, he became a part of those long-term goals. We need to ensure that the farm and business are in good shape. As challenging as the farming industry is, it takes preparation, dedication and commitment to ensure that we’re running an efficient business that will be around by the time he’s my age. We also try to embrace as much growth and technology as possible. I hope his interest is in farming. I’m certainly not going to pressure him into it, especially if it’s not something that he innately wants to do. But I want to be there for him no matter what his goals are. I want there to be a business here that he feels like he can fit into. And we do that just by keeping a healthy, positive, stable, and family-oriented culture, while still preparing to teach him as much about the farm and the business as I can.

Describe some opportunities available for African American youth to help foster their passion for agriculture. How can those opportunities create life-changing experiences?

KB: Within farming, the Black community is largely underrepresented, as well as our culture in the industry. A young Black kid who’s never been on a farm or doesn’t know anyone that’s worked on a farm may not understand the benefits of agriculture. So, I think it starts with exposure. And that experience can change career or lifestyle goals. It can open up opportunities that they didn’t know existed. I believe it is important, especially for young Black kids, to understand that agriculture is a massive industry. It doesn’t always mean working in a field every day. Whether it’s digital marketing, finance, health science, or any other element within agriculture, you have to be exposed to the industry to find your fit. There are a lot of big companies and money in the agriculture space. I’d like to see more recruitment from larger companies, like USDA, Bayer, Dow DuPont. And even recruitment from historically Black colleges and universities.

Lastly, how do you hope your work and passion will inspire the next generation of Black and diverse farmers? 

KB: Hopefully, I can be a testament. I hope that others will relate to the story I tell and the experiences I’ve had. I want to be an example of how your passion for agriculture can help you find your place in the industry.

This interview is a part of a series of blogs supporting 4‑H’s Community Impact program emphasizing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion – an effort sponsored by Nationwide®

Nationwide, the Nationwide N and Eagle and Nationwide is on your side are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. © 2021 Nationwide 

In February 2020, 4‑H commemorated Black History Month by featuring the stories of 4‑H alumni and Cooperative Extension* leaders at 1890 land grant universities**. It was an honor to tell their stories and highlight the great work of their institutions. But so much has changed in the last year. Priorities have shifted, programs have realigned, and resources were re-evaluated. I caught up with some of them to learn about how these historically Black colleges and universities have continued their work in supporting kids and communities.

Dr. Carolyn Williams, Extension Director at the Prairie View A&M University, celebrates 4‑H and Extension agents, noting, “I am so proud of how they transitioned into virtual educators while learning to use technology in the process.”

Dr. Maurice Smith embarked on a professional transition, leaving his role as Assistant Professor and 4‑H Youth Development Extension Specialist at Virginia State University to become a National Program Leader at the USDA-NIFA.

Here’s how Teki Hunt, Director of 4‑H Youth Development Programs at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff (UAPB), is working with community groups to deliver 4‑H resources and bring awareness to racial equity.

Since March 2020, we’ve primarily shifted to virtual platforms. I started a UAPB 4‑H Facebook page so I could continue doing live Healthy Living Sessions, as well as share 4‑H at Home activities and ideas from other 4‑H programs. We did a grab-and-go Healthy Snack bag from 4‑H and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), which included instructions for a recipe contest we ran. Some of our afterschool groups are following a blended model—some in-person meetings with 10 kids or less, others online via Zoom.

In June 2020, our community held a Pine Bluff Solidarity Rally. My son—who has participated in 4‑H since about 3rd grade—was one of the speakers. Since then, we recently distributed a survey regarding our community and police relations as well as feelings of safety here in Pine Bluff. I developed the Spanish translation. This is completely voluntary and not connected to the university. University-related—in partnership with the University of Arkansas—we are working on the development of a Coming Together for Racial Understanding training.

*The Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land grant university and a network of local or regional offices. These offices are staffed by experts who provide useful, practical, and research-based information to agricultural producers, small-business owners, youth, consumers, and others in rural areas and communities of all sizes.

**The Morrill Act of 1890 requires each state to show that race was not an admissions criterion, or else to designate a separate land-grant institution for persons of color. Among the seventy colleges and universities which eventually evolved from the Morrill Acts are several of today’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

 This interview is a part of a series of blogs supporting 4‑H’s Community Impact program emphasizing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion – an effort sponsored by Nationwide®

Nationwide, the Nationwide N and Eagle and Nationwide is on your side are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. © 2021 Nationwide 
Meet Dr. Robert Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a proud Georgia 4‑H alumnus, and member of National 4‑H Council’s Board of Trustees. A son of a sharecropper in the Jim Crow era of southwestern Georgia, he established himself as a successful scientist, renowned scholar, award-winning musical artist, and today, spearheads innovative research in COVID-19 testing.

During our chat, he shares how his university is eliminating the opportunity gap through a commitment to affordable and accessible education.

 

I’ve had the pleasure of hearing your 4‑H story. For those who haven’t, can you share your 4‑H experience and describe what it was like for you in your community? 

Dr. Robert Jones (RJ): I was encouraged to join 4‑H in elementary school. It was probably the first structured and informal learning environment that I participated in outside of school and church. I do remember our 4‑H chapter met on the top floor of a funeral home, which was pretty traumatizing for me. And although this was in the Jim Crow South—only the Black kids met together—it was a good experience for me. That positive youth development helped me better understand myself and my leadership capabilities.

How was your 4‑H experience different from today’s 4‑H? 

RJ: The idea of youth development, leadership development, and character building are still very much at the core. But how that mission is delivered, I think, has transformed significantly. I think there’s been a deliberate effort to extend this youth development program, through Cooperative Extension*, to more urban communities and communities of color. I think it’s one of the things that has changed dramatically, in addition to the use of technology, particularly during COVID-19. I am delighted that 4‑H continues to carry out the mission of education and training, leveraging technology and innovations. So, while the core mission remains the same, 4‑H’s mission is actualized and the strategies for delivery have changed significantly.

As mentioned on the university’s website, you’re helping to make “world-class college education affordable and accessible.” Why is that so important?

RJ: Affordability and access are things that I have been very adamant about throughout most of my academic career. Because of my father—who made sure we didn’t miss school to harvest crops—I’ve always understood the value of an education. I think it was W.E.B. DuBois that said something like, “There’s nothing more fundamental or more critically important than the right to an education.” I embrace and invite that notion throughout my life. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college, so I had to work two full-time jobs to make enough money to pay my first year of college tuition. I had to work to provide access to my own education and my goal is to try to make it easier for others.

Besides your father, was there someone in your life who had a similar passion and invested in you the way you invest in young people today? 

RJ: I call them interveners: those who protect you from yourself. The first one in my life was my vocational agriculture teacher in high school. He took me under his wing and encouraged me to get involved in different programs. When I attended Fort Valley State University, there was Malcolm Blount, who was in charge of undergraduate education for all the Agronomy Science students. He set very high expectations. Lastly, while in the Ph.D. program at the University of Missouri, there was Jerry Nelson. He prepared me for a life as a university professor and a successful scholar and scientist. He nominated me for the George Washington Carver Scholarship that made a financial difference in my own accessibility and affordability of education. These were the folks along the way that helped make a difference.

During your tenure as Chancellor, you’ve spearheaded many of the university’s efforts in expanding diversity within the school’s programs and opportunities within the community. Share some of the university’s successes in closing the opportunity gap.

RJ: We have almost 10,000 international students. However, we struggled a bit with increasing the diversity of the student body. So, we were able to create the Illinois Commitment, which offers free tuition and fees for any in-state student from a family making $61,000 or less to provide access to the university experience. As a result, we brought in the largest cohort of African American and Latinx students in the university’s history. We had a 7.2% increase the first year. It’s a big financial commitment to do that. But, nothing’s free; somebody has to pay this commission. So we decided that we would pay it. It has been one of the most transformative things I’ve been able to do at a university. And in a financial crisis caused by the pandemic that’s costing us over $200 million so far, we made a commitment to continue advancing access and affordability.

How did the university’s work shift during a global pandemic, and how is it continuing to evolve?

RJ: I’m proud to say that we were one of the first institutions to move to remote education. But we were hearing from our students and their parents that they wanted to be back on campus. We knew that the best educational experience you can offer students is a face-to-face model. So, we decided on a hybrid model to start the fall semester, with about 30% of our courses in-person. To make this happen, we needed to conduct tests at least twice a week, and the nasal test is very uncomfortable. It was evident to us at the time that the available COVID-19 testing capability was not going to be congruent with our ability to bring nearly 50,000 people back to campus. So, as one of the top institutions receiving funding from the National Science Foundation—allowing us to continue advancing research during the pandemic—we did what Illinois does: we invented our own test! Our saliva-based COVID-19 test is the most innovative in the world. It’s scalable, cost-effective, and it is the main reason we could complete the fall semester the way we started.

Now, over 50 universities are using our test or taking an interest. There’s potential for implementation in Seoul, New Zealand and Indonesia. We’ve even had conversations with the Biden Administration. So, what we developed for our own selfish purposes to bring our students back on campus has turned into a testing ecosystem.

Your overall commitment to putting your students first is admirable. How can more universities close the opportunity gap and create more equitable experiences for young people in all stages of their learning/careers?

RJ: As leaders in higher education, we should be concerned about the educational experiences of students on campus, and work with K-12 education to ensure more students are college-ready. We have to take some ownership of the fact that the percentage of students of color graduating from high school is going down. The percentage of students of color that are college-ready is only a fraction of what it was 10-20 years ago. So I can’t sit here creating multimillion-dollar programs to provide access and affordability for students when there is a decreasing number of students that are going to be qualified to take advantage of these opportunities. We need to be more intentional and strategic to ensure kids are reading by third grade, doing math by fourth grade, and college-ready by ninth grade. We need programs like 4‑H, which provides essential youth development resources, mentors and hands-on experiences for life, college and career readiness.

 

*The Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land grant university and a network of local or regional offices. These offices are staffed by experts who provide useful, practical, and research-based information to agricultural producers, small-business owners, youth, consumers, and others in rural areas and communities of all sizes.

 

This interview is a part of a series of blogs supporting 4‑H’s Community Impact program emphasizing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion – an effort sponsored by Nationwide®

Nationwide, the Nationwide N and Eagle and Nationwide is on your side are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. © 2021 Nationwide 

For more than 100 years, 4‑H has helped young people develop the skills that led them to successful careers and contributions to their communities. Today, they are industry leaders, activists and experts who use their influence to pay it forward and help eliminate the opportunity gap for communities and kids across the country. To commemorate Black History Month—and with support from Nationwide®—I will be sharing stories from African American 4‑H alumni who are creating opportunities for all kids and communities.

I am excited to launch this in partnership with Nationwide, one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the United States, to inspire young people from all backgrounds to see the opportunities available in agriculture and beyond, and provide the tools and confidence they need to bring their new ideas and passions to life.

Throughout February, I’ll be having one-on-one conversations with industry changemakers, such as Dr. Robert Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Georgia 4‑H alumnus; Kyle Bridgeforth, Bridgeforth Farms and Alabama 4‑H alumnus; Avery Williamson, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker and Tennessee 4‑H alumnus; Cooperative Extension* leaders of historically Black colleges and universities**; and many others.

These alumni inspire others to take action and be catalysts for change through leadership and innovation in their respective fields. From education to agriculture to the National Football League, these individuals are creating a future that is equal and accessible to all young people. Join me as I celebrate their leadership in developing equitable solutions for the next generation, while telling stories of diversity and innovation that are essential to the future success of our economy, our country and our world.

*The Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land grant university and a network of local or regional offices. These offices are staffed by experts who provide useful, practical, and research-based information to agricultural producers, small-business owners, youth, consumers, and others in rural areas and communities of all sizes.

**The Morrill Act of 1890 requires each state to show that race was not an admissions criterion, or else to designate a separate land-grant institution for persons of color. Among the seventy colleges and universities which eventually evolved from the Morrill Acts are several of today’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).


Nationwide, the Nationwide N and Eagle and Nationwide is on your side are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. © 2021 Nationwide

 

As it turns out, STEM careers aren’t just in cities
If you live in a rural community, you probably know the farming and agriculture jobs available to you. But did you know that STEM careers exist no matter where you live? It’s true: Science- and tech-centric careers don’t just happen in urban areas. Regardless of where you live, STEM jobs are almost always in demand and are usually pretty well-paying. We talked to Martin Nelkie, a 4‑H alum and an electrical engineer at Tyson Foods in North Sioux City, South Dakota, to learn about how he landed in a STEM job and the unique challenges and benefits that come with living and working in a rural setting.

Editor’s Note: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

 

Did you grow up in a rural area? If so, how did that influence your decision to establish your STEM career in a rural area?

Martin Nelkie (MN): I grew up on a small dairy farm several miles from a town with a population of 2,500 people. Growing up on the farm, I wanted to become a farmer, and I greatly enjoyed the lifestyle. But I enjoyed playing with fireworks, amateur rockets, as well as remote-controlled cars and planes. I studied model rocketry at a 4‑H camp at Michigan State University, and that was one of my favorite weeks of the year. I also participated in a spring competition consisting of various local 4‑H clubs where we would create various projects to present. My brothers and I would always have competitions with Lego cars, and crash them together to see who had the strongest. I really enjoyed making things, and seeing what they could do.

What was your educational path to becoming an electrical engineer?

MN: In high school, I took many AP classes, which did not have a direct affect on my college education, but were a great educational base for me to build upon. I did well with most science and some math classes in school. I really enjoyed the applications of principles with biology, chemistry and physics. I actually struggled with some of my college math courses; the math often seemed arbitrary and inapplicable. It was not until later classes like signals and systems and higher-level physics that some of the mathematical concepts made more sense.

My message to students thinking about their future is that I recommend having a first-choice career path and a backup one before starting. And, remember, there is no need to break the bank for your entire education. There are many specialized classes that I did not appreciate until after college. I attended the University of Detroit Mercy and it was required that students take three internships during their schooling. This was one of the best experiences for me, and I feel it helped me get my first job, and learn how to apply what I was learning in the work environment.

Can you tell us a little bit about your job as an electrical engineer, and what your duties and responsibilities are on a day-to-day basis?

MN: I currently work in the controls and automation department. I code PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) and HMIs (Human Machine Interfaces), which run various operations around the plants. Examples include refrigeration systems, processing chains, conveyors, and other systems. I work with the design engineering department for new additions to plants and upgrades to old equipment.

What are some of the challenges of being an electrical engineer in a rural area? What are some of the benefits?

MN: Working as an electrical engineer in a rural area requires a lot of travel to where the work is. Tyson has many facilities scattered across the U.S., and depending upon the project, we must travel to them to complete our work properly. This can be a positive or negative thing; If you are able to plan accordingly beforehand you can minimize travel by doing a significant amount of work before going to the location. The cost of living is significantly lower in rural areas, and you are able to develop yourself in a small-town atmosphere.

How would you encourage a kid who wants to pursue becoming an electrical engineer – or any other STEM-based career – in a rural area, but is worried about a lack of job opportunities?

MN: Don’t be afraid to travel. Most of the education received is universal from school to school. And with the advent of online classes, you get out what you put into it. When I went to University of Detroit Mercy, living in a big city was very different from anything I was used to. It was also one of the greatest experiences I have had, and it broadened my view on many areas of life.  Had I stayed in a more rural area for my education, I may have missed out on these opportunities. There are jobs everywhere, even in rural areas. You just need to look and be open to the possibilities.

Clear your mind and strengthen your body with this week’s collections of CLOVER activities on mental and physical wellness!  Don’t forget to visit the links to learn more about the activity and check back every Monday for new ideas and hands-on, educational resources for all young people.

Indoor Fitness Trail

Recommended age: Grades 3-12

Courtesy of Purdue University, Indiana 4‑H

Learn how to create an indoor fitness trail that is a great way to stay physically active while indoors!

Start Walking at Home!

Bike Safety

Recommended age: Grades Pre-K-12

Courtesy of Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma 4‑H

Follow these steps to make sure your bicycle is safe and ready to ride!

Take a Ride!

Health Rocks! Video Playlists

Recommended age: Grades Pre-K-12

Courtesy of University of Tennessee, Tennessee 4‑H

Learn about healthy living topics such as stress, decision making and much more with these Health Rocks! video playlists!

Beginner Playlist (Grades Pre-K+)

Intermediate Playlist (Grades 6-12)

Soccer & CLOVER Summer Program

Recommended age: Grades 3-12

Courtesy of Purdue University, Indiana 4‑H

Explore topics such as soccer fundamentals, home challenges, serving others, eating well and more with this 10-week Soccer & CLOVER Summer Program that includes lessons in both English and Spanish!

Kick into the Summer!

Work Out with Avery Williamson!

Try this at-home workout from New York Jets linebacker & Tennessee 4‑H alum Avery Williamson! Watch and follow along to stay physically active at home. Try as many sets of this workout as you’d like to fit your fitness level!

More Weekly Lessons:

Making, Media & Visual Arts

Virtual 4‑H Camp, Painting & Chemical Reactions

Helpers, Heroes & History

DNA, Fruit Batteries & Water Camp

Creative Writing, Abstract Art & Jewelry Making

Gardening, Exercise & Wildlife

 

Throughout my career, I’ve had the pleasure of partnering with and supporting organizations whose missions are to advance learning, opportunities and innovation in various industries. And within those organizations are fearless leaders whose passion runs deep.

One organization that comes to mind is the Cultivating Change Foundation (CCF). CCF is a nonprofit that was founded in 2015 with a mission “to value and elevate LGBTQ agriculturists through advocacy, education, and community.”

In celebration of Pride Month, I wanted to highlight the work of the organization and founding members, Jesse Lee Eller and Marcus Hollan, proud 4‑H alumni. They are using their passion for advancing equity and inclusion in agriculture.

Crediting the foundational skills and life lessons learned in 4-H, Jesse and Marcus lead the work of CCF through diversity training, conference participation, and an annual Summit, which I’ve had the pleasure of attending. In addition to their foundation work, the two lead at Studio 5 – Learning and Development, Inc., a people development firm based in San Francisco. Jesse is the chief executive officer, and Marcus is the chief people officer.

Here is how they are cultivating diversity and inclusion in the agriculture industry.

expertseries-cultivating-change-feature

 

Why did you start the Cultivating Change Foundation, and what is its mission? 


Marcus Hollan (MH): We wanted a way to proactively keep LGBTQ people in the ag industry and help them feel they belong. The organization started as a passion project for both of us, each growing up in agriculture and rural America.

Jesse Lee Eller (JLE): Marcus and I knew we were not the only young leaders that felt marginalized and isolated within the agriculture industry. We wanted to create a space where people, no matter their sexual or gender identity, could find a home in agriculture and live their authentic lives while serving the agriculture, food, and natural resources industry.

Talk about your agriculture story. From where did your passion come? 


JLE: I’m from a fifth-generation ranching family and grew up in Corning, California, a town noted for being the “Olive Capital of the World.” From raising and showing livestock to farming the land with my parents and grandparents, my passion for agriculture started at a very young age. I’ve taken the valuable lessons learned throughout my time in organizations like 4-H and applied the same grit and work ethic taught to me by my family, to launch Studio 5 Inc.

MH: I was raised in the rural foothills of Yosemite National Park. My passion for agriculture came from growing up with my grandparents, who grew their food and raised their livestock. It was the leadership development skills and opportunities, not agriculture alone, that drew me towards 4-H. Today, I help companies and organizations develop growth journeys for their employees at Studio 5, Inc.

Why is it important to bring visibility and uplift the voices of LGBTQ+ farmers and agriculturalists? 


JLE: A basic tenant of the Cultivating Change Foundation is that creating an equitable environment for LGBTQ agriculturalists is vital to the future of global food production.

With the global population set to reach 10 billion people by 2050, there has never been a more important time to be in agriculture. We have 2.5 billion additional mouths to feed over the next 30 years, which means we must increase food production by 60 percent by 2050 to meet demand. Throw in a global pandemic, and now we’re looking at additional layers of complexity.

Ag tech is booming in response to this need. From the heart of Silicon Valley, we see tech startups focused on agriculture popping up and more venture capital firms investing in innovation within the industry. During this boom, Cultivating Change is at the forefront, connecting people, companies, and organizations committed to business equity to support innovative LGBTQ talent and suppliers.

MH: Just as diverse ideas and backgrounds make a local 4-H club more successful in its activities, greater diversity in agriculture is needed for a growing and thriving industry. As agriculture rises to the challenge of producing more food, fuel, fiber, and protecting natural resources, all while making significant technological advancements, we need everyone to feel comfortable bringing their best self to the industry every day.

Several organizations that have studied and evaluated some of the most successful industries and businesses in the world have observed the positive impacts of greater diversity and inclusion. The bottom line: Organizations that are more diverse achieve greater results.

How can youth organizations like 4-H give young people of diverse backgrounds a platform to lead in agriculture? 


MH: To be more successful, agricultural businesses and organizations across the country strive to develop employees to work more effectively with colleagues from other cultures. When you consider our industry produces, markets, and delivers agricultural products via a multicultural workforce to a multicultural consumer force, it makes sense. Multicultural consumers (members of social minority groups) are predicted to become a majority of the United States population by 2044, which means the majority of the United States workforce will also be multicultural.

4-H members will be leaders in the agriculture industry and other career areas where acceptance and open-mindedness will be a catalyst for gainful employment. As our nation and world continue to grow faint of our agrarian roots, we cannot afford to exclude students—intentionally or not—from leading the industry through innovation and inclusion.

What is your message for LGBTQ+ youth who have an interest or seek a career in agriculture but feel they may not have a voice in the industry? 


JLE: For those seeking a career in agriculture but feel they may not have a voice: Do your homework. Search for companies and organizations that support and value the things that you hold true for yourself. Research companies and check out their values and mission statements. Check-out if they have employee resource groups, ask what policies are in place that protect employees against discrimination. There is an incredible guide released by the Human Rights Campaign, which shows the equality grade for every fortune 500 and 100 company. The Corporate Equality Index allows all of us the autonomy to choose for which type of company we want to work.

MH: In the earlier years of the foundation’s inception, we often had phone calls with “veteran” LGBTQ+ agriculturists. They heard about the work we were doing and wanted to call and share their stories. Their brave stories were honest, and often included their experience working and living in fear, and without legal protections. In June 2020, the world celebrated as SCOTUS banned employment discrimination for LGBT people. For the first time in US history, individuals can marry who they love without the fear of losing their job.

There is a bright future for anyone that chooses to invest their talents in the agriculture industry. The industry needs you! They need your unique skills, your innovation, and your passion.

Carla Hall has popped up in pop culture so much over the last decade that you might not remember exactly where you first saw her. Maybe it was one of her two turns on “Top Chef,” or maybe it was on the daytime talk show “The Chew,” which she co-hosted for eight years. It could be from a variety of other TV appearances, or one of her three cookbooks, or the restaurant she ran in Brooklyn. The point is, Carla Hall has done quite a few things – and she credits much of success to the lessons she learned through 4‑H.

For Hall, who attended St. Vincent De Paul— an all-black Catholic school — in Nashville, 4‑H provided a much-needed dose of self-esteem. An early foundational experience for her was winning a Blue Ribbon for her artistic entry in a 4‑H competition.

“I learned my art was blue ribbon-worthy, which gave me the confidence to go on. I was such a shy kid and it gave me the confidence to keep doing things,” Hall remembers. But the value of that experience was less about winning something, and more about realizing there was a world beyond her own small town. “The experience was about us supporting each other within the walls of our small school community and knowing that we were learning how to reach out to a larger community, to our state, to our country, and on into the world,” she said.

While 4‑H’s roots are in agricultural education, for Hall, participating in 4‑H was about learning the skills she would need throughout her life, and she has said that 4‑H provided “the foundation for my future.” For the chef/entrepreneur/author/television personality, “busy” isn’t just a temporary status but an entire state of mind. Fortunately, Hall isn’t one to crack under pressure. She attributes her ability to be the very embodiment of grace-under-fire to those life skills she picked up in 4‑H.

“When there is an emergency, you want me on your team,” Hall said. “I’m going to calm down. I’m going to have Plan A. If that doesn’t work, I will have Plan B.”

It’s been more than 40 years since Hall first got involved with 4‑H, but she believes the organization is still as relevant to students today as it was to her as a teenager back at St. Vincent’s.

“4‑H’ers make a significant difference in their communities,” she said. “They are a living, breathing cultural revolution for doing the right thing — breaking through obstacles and pushing our world forward to make a measurable difference right where they live.”

In this week’s “4 for 4” interview, I chat with Dr. E. Gordon Gee—proud Utah 4-H alumnus and president of West Virginia University—on the future of education post-COVID-19.

You have held more university presidencies than any other American according to Wikipedia. So, looking back on your life’s journey, what or who stands out for helping put you on this path?

Gordon Gee (GG): Well, I think there are so many people I could talk about, but obviously loving parents, great friends, and a family that has continued to be very supportive of me. I also think that being a university president is more akin to a calling than a job. It really is about working with people that you know with which you’re going to be able to make a difference. And in particular, the Land Grant institutions that have been immensely important to me.

In the wake of COVID-19 and the national shutdown, how are you seeing universities adapting to change the future of higher education?

GG: Well, some people say we are going to go back to normal. I don’t believe that. I think that it’s a new world, and I welcome that because I believe that as with everything, the world is in fast forward and we need to change. We need to change immediately. We need to be very disruptive. We need to think about what the world is going to look like 20 years from now and then we need to organize higher education accordingly. That is going to require a much different kind of format and even a much different kind of institution than we’ve had over the last 50 years.

Well, I’m sure that’s why you’ve been successful as a university president. You’re so open to change and embracing it. So, tell me how do you think the relevance of 4-H and Cooperative Extension changes in this moment of COVID-19?

GG: I think that when you think about what Abraham Lincoln wanted 150 years ago, that was to develop community-based education to have institutions that really made a difference in the daily lives of people. I think that in this 21st century, we’ll have to think differently about what 4-H is going to look like. But its importance, I think, is incredibly significant right now because it goes to the family, to the character, to the quality of life and to the fundamental nature of our democracy.

What insights do you have for us about Gen Z and how they want to change the world?

GG: Well, if you think about the gap between the millennials, which would have just graduated, and the Gen Z, it is huge. It’s a chasm. They look at the world much differently. 40-50% of them don’t want to work for anyone. They want to be entrepreneurial. They want to start their own businesses. They are very community-centered. They are very job oriented. And so all of those things dictate that this new group of individuals are really acclimated to what the new world will be after the coronavirus. I think that in many ways the coronavirus amplifies the kind of strengths of these young students we see. And of course, I love them dearly. I’d like to adopt every one of them but that’s impossible. Nonetheless, I miss them in my life while they are not here on campus with me.

Originally published for University of Missouri Extension. 

“In good times, 4‑H is a wonderful resource to help develop the youth of America and around the world. In hard times, like what we’re going to feel through this crisis and into the coming recession, that value expands exponentially,” said Richard Maltsbarger, president and CEO of Pet Retail Brands, a multinational pet products company.Maltsbarger is also a 4‑H alumnus from Pettis County, Missouri, and member of National 4‑H Council’s board of trustees.

In response to COVID-19, National 4‑H Council launched the FOURWARD Fund to provide educational resources and funds to help support local clubs and extension. “I’m proud of all the ways in which 4‑H is adapting so quickly,” Maltsbarger said.

As a kid, Maltsbarger had worked on small engine projects in 4‑H, developing skills he still uses today. He said those experiences “really began some of the first embryonic stages of understanding the place I could possibly have in a much broader world than just Pettis County, Missouri.”

He emphasizes the importance of the 4‑H pledge(opens in new window). “When you include the words ‘world’ and ‘country,’ the fact that you are making a commitment that stretches out to all of the world, that was a big moment for me as a kid,” Maltsbarger recalled.

“The activities and the work that we did in agriculture in real life, even in small-town Missouri, were tied into a broader world economy,” he said.

Maltsbarger decided to attend the University of Missouri because of how university extension helped to make 4‑H possible. “I took the same spirit of 4‑H and started teaching myself how to program computers,” he said. “Ultimately, my first job was working on a computer program at Farmland Industries.”

4‑H gives children confidence and helps them understand that they have the ability to learn new skills, he said. “If I can do that, I can do this; for me, that was computer programming.”

Today, Maltsbarger runs a company that distributes food and supplies for more than 125 million pets. “I love what I do, I love the opportunity to go into our stores every day and work with people that are just like my family. We work to serve people who love their pets,” he said.

“The most important thing I learned from 4‑H was that you have potential, and that potential can expand to any size community and any place in the world,” Maltsbarger said.

His advice to 4‑H’ers is to not lose the essence of the pledge in the way they continue to live life as an adult.

“I’m proud to be a part of 4‑H,” Maltsbarger said. “I’m proud to be a part of the team that helps understand what we can do to expand the resources and the reach of 4‑H every day.”