Practitioner Tip Tuesday
By Guest Blogger Claire Sponseller, 4-H Educator
Umatilla County, Oregon
I have thoroughly been enjoying Mary’s blogs as they are driving me to think more on what we as professionals can do to see 4-H youth thrive. So on that note, I’ll throw caution to the wind and hope to aid more thought on a thriving Oregon 4-H.
I, too, was a product of 4-H in Ada County, Idaho and had a pretty special relationship with my 4-H leaders and fellow club members. I started in 4-H because I was asked, which seems how most things still happen in 4-H. I dabbled in a little bit of everything, from livestock projects to youth leadership, but I keep landing back on: “What made my 4-H career a professional career?” It was those youth-adult partnerships and the comradery with my peers. Those same peers and leaders were at my wedding 20 some years later. They became my extended family, supporting me through college and guiding me to Extension and where I am now. Continue reading
At some point in my life I fell in love with words. I am not sure why this happened, because I distinctly remember being told in high school that my vocabulary was not very large. By college it had not improved much, and by the time I took the Graduate Record Exam to get into grad school I knew I had to make an effort to improve my vocabulary. Maybe it was listening to those GRE vocabulary tapes that first piqued my interest, or maybe it was the delightful discovery of the precision of words- finding the perfect word for describing something. In some cases it was because I just liked the sound of the word. I still don’t know for sure, but what I do know is that I began to pay attention to the words people use, and ponder the precise meaning and purpose for using them.
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