America the Beautiful

     Every year in honor of Earth Day my 4-H club, The Backwoodsmen, takes a Sunday to clean the roadsides in the the area. So, on April 15th about 15 members and leaders split up the roads and picked up about a miles worth of roadside. Now, everybody can usually find some interesting things that people have dumped over banks. One year my brother found a cell phone, a brand new CD, and a pair of sneakers. Other years multiple soccer and basket balls have been found. One year I even found a salamander when picking up bottles. Of course there are some years that I only found cigarettes and empty soda bottles.
      So this year I was full of anticipation as to what I would find. Within 5 minutes of starting my stretch of road I found an old metal vacuum cleaner. My friend and I still have no idea as to how the vacuum cleaner ended up over the bank in the middle of no where, but there it was. So my friend decided she wanted to retrieve it. She jumped over the guard rail and started down the bank. Little did she know there was an ant hill right where she had jumped. While she was working her way down the bank I saw the ants swarming about. I called out to my friend saying, "Hey look at all these ants!" At that time she noticed all the ants crawling up her legs. luckily she didn't fall down the bank as she started hopping and slapping her legs. After she rid herself of the ants she grabbed the vacuum cleaners cord and drug it up the bank.
     We were both pretty proud of our discover of the vacuum cleaner, because we doubt that anyone will ever find another vacuum cleaner along side the road. And discoveries like this make cleaning the roadsides fun.

Wishing for Change

Senior year is a year for celebrating, focusing, making decisions, and even having fun. I would have never thought senior year is a year to change. Change in attitude, change in experiences, and change in where you are headed are all changes that occurred during my senior year.

As you begin to become more involved with situations around you, you have no idea how it will affect you. Senior year is a situation that changed my whole life. It is a time for college acceptances to begin arriving and your decisions become finalized. My search for a college started as a broad want and finished with a narrow-down to a major and college choice. With any situation, the beginning doesn’t matter; it is the ending people notice.

In the summer, I had no inclination of where I wanted to be attending college after four years of high school. Sure I had goals and aspirations, but what if the path I choose isn’t the right choice for me. If I wrote my credentials for college applications once, I wrote them at least 5 more times. As I filled in my name, I saw a clear ending of where I wanted to be. One by one, colleges began to fall off of my list and left me with one choice. That choice I realized is a change in what I will become four years from now.

My suggestion for all of you is that when you start  the college search, you might know where you will end up or why you are making the choices you did. Everything that you do know will help you later on. If you stumble, you are still moving forward, which is what matters the most. When you start a project, event or anything else, finish it with the smile you started out with. Through your decisions and choices it doesn’t matter where you are, all that matters is where you end up. Change is a positive element in life.

With something to think about,

Ashley Mohn

PA 4-H State Council Secretary 

“A year from now you will wish you had started today.” -Karen Lamb

Everyone needs a few goals

Do you know that feeling you get when you accomplish something you set out to do? It's a sweet satisfying feeling, one that comes after a great accomplishment that keeps you smiling for days. Yeah, I love that feeling. The first start to getting that satisfaction is by setting goals for yourself. Goal setting is a great thing to do, especially when you finally achieve the goal after you worked hard to get there. There is great satisfaction in knowing you are capable of completing something you wanted to do. I have set a few goals for myself already this year, some involving my 4-H horse project and another just involving something I have always wanted to do.

First I’ll tell you about my goals involving my horse project. I have worked with my mare for the last few years, and each year we have improved considerably. It is amazing to think back on how she used to be, and then look at her now as what she has become. So two of my goals that include her are –

1.  Place in the top 6 at Round up in the Grooming and Showmanship class.

2.  Place in the top 6 at Round up in the Trail class.

I think that these will be tough to get, but not impossible. It will be even more fulfilling if I do make it to districts because my sister and I were the ones to put in all of her training. There was no professional instructor for us, which is the most rewarding way to achieve my goals.

The next goal is something I have been meaning to do for the last several years, and this year I am finally going to do it! I have wanted to participate in the Apple Pie contest held at my county’s fair, but have never actually gotten to do it because I was busy preparing my market animals. It always slipped my mind until after the submissions were done. This year I intend to not forget and actually get one submitted. Perhaps I will even make it to Farm Show? But I won't get ahead of myself. That would be amazing, but for now I will just be happy with submitting my apple pie into my county contest.

What about your own goals? Do you have any set? If not you should think about some, even if they seem like they are simple ones. When you do reach them be sure to enjoy accomplishing them, because you were capable of attaining them! 

Sincerely, 

Danielle Knapp

Reporter

A taste of college...

Thinking of college is quite easy, but actually going and seeing where I'm going to be living and studying can be very intimidating. In January, I received my acceptance letter into Penn State University Park and I was the happiest person in the whole world! I couldn't believe I got in and couldn't wait to be on the campus going to classes and meeting new people.

Like most other colleges, Penn State offers an overnight stay to get a feel of the college life. Instead of being put on by the college though, the one I went to was put on by the Pre-Vet Club. The head of the Animal Science major was there and also the head of the Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences department. Upon arrival, I checked in and talked to my college host student a little bit about college and what to expect. She is a junior at Penn State and her major is Animal Science which is my intended major. It was very helpful to be with someone that has already been through so much at college and is now applying to Vet schools. I was there Thursday night to Saturday and all day Friday went to classes with my host. Being at this overnight stay made me feel so much better about going to college and made it seem less intimidating. But wait, this was not the end of my college adventure...

On Saturday, the Pre-Vet club was also hosting a Pre-Vet Symposium! It started early that morning and went till 4 in the afternoon. I was able to hear a lecture on Zoonosis by a Penn State Professor and lectures on different case studies and Toxicology by different Veterinarians. They were all very interesting and taught me so much information. We were also able to participate in a lab. The lab I was in was a dissection of a chicken. The only animals that I have ever dissected were rats and fetal pigs that were preserved in formaldehyde, but these chickens were fresh and by that I mean still warm! It was definitely a first for me! But as we started, it wasn't that bad and I learned a lot! I also was able to even remember some of the parts inside from by high school classes. Overall, both of these experiences were great and gave me a new perspective of a college student and as a veterinarian.

This month has been very busy getting ready for college. Not only that but of course 4-H events! State Council's upcoming event is Capitol Days and we hope to see lots and lots of 4-H members there!

Truly,
Liz McAndrew
PA State 4-H Vice President of Operations and Events