November 5, 2024
Discover Your Future: 4-H Career Exploration and Career Pathway Program Enters Second Year
The Discover Your Future Career Exploration and Pathway program will kick off its second session with the application process this fall for the 2025 spring semester. This second pilot will enable 80 junior and senior high 4-H youth (20 per class) to achieve college credit by completing an aligned 4-H project and passing the accompanying K-State intro-level college course.
Pilot project courses available include:
• Introduction to Personal Financial Planning.
• Introduction to Human Development.
• Introduction to Agriculture Communications.
• Communication Public Speaking (new this year)
Benefits to extension, 4-H and the university
Opportunities for KSRE 4-H are many and include:
• Increased recruitment of youth into 4-H as a career exploration and career development program.
• Increased 4-H and K-State brand recognition to external audiences (youth, families, schools, communities) and internal (K-State colleges, departments).
• Increased retention of older 4-H youth through the opportunity to gain college credit.
• Opportunities to align 4-H curriculum with K-State departments.
• Increased visibility of KSRE and 4-H as a partner in the university’s student recruitment efforts.
Potential advantages for K-State colleges and departments include:
• Introducing the K-State brand through 4-H clubs and school enrichment programs.
• Early exposure to K-State career opportunities for students and parents.
• Early access and recruitment of potential students through involvement in 4-H and course options.
• Better coordination and partnership between 4-H and the university, colleges and departments regarding student recruitment.
Letters to promote the program will be sent to perspective junior and senior 4-H youth through the 4-H online system.
How it works: Application and enrollment
The process begins by enrolling in 4-H online as a member. Next, interested youth fill out a Discover Your Future Career Exploration and Pathway application.
The application will be reviewed by the Discover Your Future program team and a recommendation will be made for acceptance into the program and chosen class. If selected to participate in the pilot program, the participant will be required to pay a $90 program fee. K-State tuition costs will be paid by the Discover Your Future scholarship. Textbook fees -- including electronic books, materials and required software -- are the responsibility of the 4-H student and varies from class to class.
The total estimated value of the program per 4-H youth is up to $715 (tuition plus K-State admission fee plus college and departmental fees). Efforts are underway to enlisted scholarship support to defray the cost of the program.
If you have a local 4-H foundation or community foundation that support 4-H youth, please solicit their involvement. Additionally, we plan to work with school systems to offer the course for dual credit.
An extension navigator (EN) for each course will provide support to an instructor of record in charge of a class. The EN will assist 4-H youth in navigating and answering questions for the pilot program as well as assisting in the process to enter the K-State system and support the instructor with the class.
Additionally, the EN will be a liaison to parents, local unit agents who have 4-H youth involved, and the youth enrolled in the course to facilitate communication, troubleshoot and assist 4-H youth.
The introductory courses will be asynchronous (asynchronous learning allows you to learn on your own schedule within a certain timeframe) which will allow 4-H youth to work the course into their own schedule. 4-H youth will be in a separate course section designed for integrating assignments that lead to 4-H projects that they can show at local fairs.
Timeline for the Project:
Recruitment: October-November 2024
4-H enrollment opened October 1 for project selection.
DYF Application opened November 1.
Nov. 1: Program information letter sent to 4-H members through 4-H online.
Nov. 13: Program informational webinar for 4-H youth, parents, and agents.
Dec. 8, or until 80 slots are filled: Application deadline.
Dec. 9-13: Review of applications.
Dec. 16: Acceptance letters sent out.
Dec. 16-20: Free pre-college applications to Kansas State University.
Jan. 10: Deadline for program fee ($90).
Jan. 13: Official enrollment into courses.
Jan. 15: Student class orientation webinar.
Jan. 21 – May: Class duration.
How You Can Help
The success of the pilot depends upon recruiting 4-H youth into the project. You all know youth who are self-starters and have shown success in their 4-H career. Please encourage 4-H youth who have an interest in the pilot and course to submit an application. More information can be found at the Discover Your Future webpage https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/discoveryourfuture/.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email, rlpeterson@ksu.edu.