The California 4-H Youth Summits are three day weekend leadership conferences hosted in multiple locations throughout the state.

The Southern Youth Summit was held on January 12-14, 2018 at Pathfinder Ranch in Mountain Center, CA. More than 80 youth, ages 11-19, participated at the summit and learned a variety of leadership skills such as emotional regulation and how to run effective meetings. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about their personal strengths, the engineering design cycle, and the importance of bees for the environment through workshops led by peer teen leaders. 

The Southern Youth Summit was held on January 12-14, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be a leader, be a hero

The theme of the Southern Youth Summit event was "Be a leader, Be a hero". Keynote speaker Dan Shomo, a former Navy seal, shared how skills he learned in 4-H helped him complete his military training. 

Budgeting Basics

The weekend agenda also included a workshop led by Derrick Robinson, UC ANR academic coordinator for the Money Talks project. During the Money Talks workshop, 4-H'ers learned budgeting basics using real-life scenarios and hands-on activities. 

Favorite activities

Exploring and connecting with nature through hiking, meeting new friends, and the workshops were some of the activities youth reported as their favorite part of the Southern Youth Summit. 

Youth-Adult Partnership in planning the event

Tiffany Marino was the youth chair for the event and was supported by Kelly Dowlan, the Adult Chair. Tiffany, who started 4-H when she was 5 and has participated in the program for 14 years, attributes her leadership skills to 4-H.

"When I was younger, I was kind of quiet and reserved, and 4-H has definitely just brought me out of my shell and brought me a whole other level of confidence -- confidence in what I do and what I say. It's really changed me as a person and brought me to an understanding of who I am and what I want to do."

"4-H is such a great program because there's so many things you can do within it. It's not just an agriculture thing, it goes into youth development, leadership, community service. Really, it's what you make of it!" 

- Tiffany, Southern Youth Summit Chair

 

The Youth Summits were planned and organized by the California 4-H Management Board.