Guest Column by Trevor Kuethe

 

Hello. My name is Trevor Kuethe, and I have been in 4-H since I was in kindergarten. 4-H has taught me so much about being a leader and how a leader should act. Being in 4-H for so long has given me so many opportunities to travel the state and the country. One of the funnest trips I went on was the trip to Denver. We went to Denver for exposure to college and opportunities. We also went to the Denver stock show.

I have also been a 4-H camper and camp counselor. When I was a camper I had a fun time playing games. I met so many friends at camp that I still talk to. My first year not being a camper was the first year I could be a counselor. I remember thinking about all the fun I had as a camper, and I wanted to give other kids that fun. I was a counselor for four years, and I had fun every year. My favorite part about being a counselor was getting to work with the program coordinators and listening to their experiences with camp and all the good ideas they had.

The major part of 4-H to me was showing livestock. I have shown dairy steers, pigs, sheep and goats. Showing so many animals was fun and hard at times. My summers were full of walking and washing animals. I’ve shown cattle and pigs since I was in third grade. I showed sheep for about two years and goats have been the last two years. Showing for so long has taught me a lot of ways to be responsible by making sure my animals are fed, watered and washed. Showing animals has also given me the chance to go to the state fair. I have gone to state fair every year since sixth grade, and I loved every bit of it.

I also was a country ambassador for one year. Being an ambassador was fun, getting to lead the cloverbud parties and running share-the-fun.

As it’s my last year as a Minnesota 4-H’er, I have looked back on all my years of fun. I will miss it a lot getting to work with animals and learning from my county leaders. I personally don’t think 4-H is a program. I think of it more as a family from the lifelong friends you make in all the activities you participate in to the leaders from different countries that care for you even if they don’t really know who you are. I hope everyone gets the chance to be in 4-H. It really is a great time.

Trevor Kuethe is an Alden-Conger graduate.