UVM 4-H Students Visit Washington, DC for Ignite 4-H

 

 

Four area students attended the National 4-H Ignite Teen Summit in Washington, DC from March 9th through the 12th, 2023. The summit drew over 900 attendees from around the United States and beyond. The experience was made possible through a partnership with Vermont EPSCoR and allowed student attendees to share projects they have been working on while also networking with other youth groups. This marked the first year that the UVM 4-H program had students in attendance. The Vermont delegation included four high school students giving presentations, chaperones and two other invited teens who were able to participate in numerous workshop sessions while also getting to visit some of Washington, DC's most famous national monuments.

 

Ignite 4-H is an annual national conference. 2023 keynote speakers included US Surgeon General Vivek Murphy and Sunniva Sorby, a guide who was part of the first women's team to reach the South Pole in 1993.

 

The students and UVM STEM Ambassador who came as a chaperone took some time to provide thoughts on the experience:

 

Sydney Feltz, Colchester High School, Grade 11: "I really learned the value anyone can bring into the scientific community, one of the first presenters who spoke about her journey into the arctic and her ability to contribute to scientific research just by putting herself in a position to be at the forefront of the research was really inspiring and my skills of confidence in myself and what I can offer and contribute to science both now, and in the future was definitely strengthened."

 

 

Tzedek Fishman, Harwood Union High School, Grade 9: "This opportunity was important to me because it really inspired me to start becoming my best self right now. You don't need to wait to make a difference, and it also showed me people that are already making a big difference that are my age."

 

Zahrah Muhammad, Essex High School, Grade 9: "Participating in Ignite 4-H helped build and strengthen my STEM skills. During the workshops I attended, challenges were prompted to us and I had to use my creativity and problem solving skills. One of the challenges I took part in was building a tower that represented a brain. I was in a group of 7 people or so and we all had to collaborate and work together to accomplish the task. The Lead To Change project helped build my STEM skills by improving my critical thinking and logic skills by forcing me to think about challenges my community faces."

 

Safia Abdo, Essex High School, Grade 11: "My favorite workshop was designing a balloon chair for someone with arthritis because not only was it so much fun but it also made you think about what accommodations had to be met, how to not pop the balloon, etc. Having this opportunity was important to me because I love STEM and I love doing fun things that help me learn about STEM and keep me interested about STEM so I can keep it in my later life."

 

 

Jay Hwasung Jung, UVM, College Senior & UVM STEM Ambassador/chaperone: "I thought chaperoning teenagers itself was a meaningful learning experience for me. Since I started a STEM ambassador at UVM, I have only led a group of younger children like under 12. Our Ignite conference group was amazing."

 

A full breakdown of the four-day experience, plus the agenda and pictures from the event, can be found at events.4-h.org/ignite/home.