Logan 4-H member attends Teen Leadership Conference

 

[February 23, 2018]  LINCOLN - Inspiration from the writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. guided Illinois 4-H members at the Teen Leadership Conference held January 13-14 at the Decatur Conference Center. Nearly 100 teens across Illinois attended the conference, including Logan County 4-H’er Krystina Slack, a member of the Wide-a-Wake 4-H Club. Those attending improved their community advocacy, college readiness, communication, and personal development skills.

“In 4-H, we know that leadership is not about a title or a designation,” said Lisa Diaz, University of Illinois Extension assistant dean and 4-H director. “It’s about impact, influence, and inspiration.”

Diaz shared the words of King’s speech, Life’s Blueprint: “Number one in your life’s blueprint should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth, and your own ‘somebodiness.’”

Krystina shared “The DARE to Lead Conference was amazing. I not only learned a lot about how to present myself but I also learned a lot about public speaking. All the classes I attended were very fun. I met a lot of great people while I was there as well. The people who ran the conference were even more amazing and all had positive attitudes and were really helpful. Overall the DARE to Lead conference was amazing and very fun.”

Five Illinois 4-H teens assisted in planning the conference and funding was provided by the Illinois 4-H Foundation. To learn more about teen leadership opportunities in 4-H contact the Logan County 4-H Office at 732-8289.

About 4-H: Illinois 4-H strives to help youth learn skills for living. University of Illinois Extension provides 4-H programs in every county in Illinois. Illinois 4-H aims to impact the lives of 200,000 youth each year through sustained learning clubs and groups and short-term programming.

[Patty Huffer
Extension Program Coordinator
University of Illinois Extension]