4-H and Ohio State Extension

Good afternoon everyone-

We had another field trip today in Community Nutrition. We went to visit the Ohio State University Extension office. It was actually something pretty new to me. The two ladies who spoke to us today were Brittany Pangburn and Joyce Shriner. They both work for the extension office in different ways. Brittany is the 4-H program assistant which is under the extension educator who is Joyce. Brittany pretty much oversees 4-H programs and what 4-H stands for is Head, Hands, Health and Heart. It is for youth of many different background to essentially socialize. There are three branches to 4-H which are Agriculture/Natural Resources, 4-H, and Family and Consumer Sciences. What I think of 4-H being is an after school or extracurricular program for youth of America. They get involved in projects and events in order for them to learn about new areas but also hold them with self accountability. It is a neat program and possibly something I can get involved in once I get my masters. What Brittany mentioned about funding was that it came from a multiple of sources. 4-H gets money from the County Commissioner, some percentage from OSU, some from membership fees, and some from fundraisers. In some other counties, you may see levees pay for it. The types of programs 4-H offers are youth development, project curriculum, camping and agricultural experiences. 4-H is evaluated and overseen by extension educators such as Joyce, and the OSU branch. 

Joyce as I mentioned is an extension educator which the position is covered at the federal, local and state level. Educators are hired through Ohio Extension System and are supervised and evaluated by the OSU Extension. The purpose of the Extension is as defined: "to aid in diffusing among the people of the US, useful and practical information in subjects relating to Agriculture and Home Economics and to encourage application of the same". The types of programs include agriculture and natural resources, community development, family and consumer sciences, and 4-H and youth development.  One thing that Joyce specifically mentioned was the FNP program or the Food Nutrition Program where adults who receive food assistance teach FNP and expanded food and nutrition education at the county level.

All in all, it was very interesting to see another job opportunity presented to nutrition students after becoming a RD. :)