Nathalie Smith Goes to Washington

Nathalie went to Washington D.C. last week as a delegate from Connecticut to the National 4-H Conference.

Here is the article she wrote for the local papers:

Nathalie Smith, a sixteen year old 4-H member from Lebanon CT, attended the National 4-H Conference held March 24-29, 2012 at the National 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She was one of three Connecticut delegates to attend.

On the first night of the conference Nathalie participated on a pin swap and other ice breakers with 4-H delegates from across the fifty states, Canada and Puerto Rico.

 For the next two days she went to workshops on Issue Planning, Event Planning, and Facilitating Discussions. She also worked on a round table. Her round table was on Getting Women and other Under Represented groups into S.T.E.M or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The National 4-H Conference had several speaker come and present to the delegates. Some of those speakers were Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Secretary of Agriculture Mr. Tom Vilsack.

 On Tuesday, Nathalie Smith was able to speak with the legislative aides to Representative Chris Murphy,      Representative Joe Courtney, and Senator Joe Lieberman. She did some sight-seeing in Washington D.C., including the Capital building, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and the Botanical Gardens. The next day her round table group gave a briefing with the Office of Science and Technology Policy. After the briefing all of the delegates went on a dinner cruise.

 Nathalie Smith said that her favorite part of the whole week being able to meet and make new friends from all over the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. She also enjoyed the time in workshops where she learned new ideas and strategies that she will share with 4-H on the local, county and state levels.

If anyone would like to know more about what 4-H offers they can contact Miss Pamela Gray at the New London 4-H extension office. The number is (860) 887-1608. 

Abby Smith Goes to Washington

This is the article that Abby wrote and submitted to the various local newspapers. So far none of them have opted to publish it.


From April 2- 7, Abigail Smith, a homeschooled sixteen year old, attended the National 4-H Conference in Chevy Chase Maryland. This conference raises the youth voice around issues and concerns facing youth in communities, provides opportunities for youth and adults to work cooperatively around real issues, and gives delegates the opportunity to help provide ideas for future 4-H program directions. As the only delegate from Connecticut, Abigail traveled with the group of 4-H delegates from Rhode Island. Abigail was chosen through a process which included a lengthy application and an interview, where her accomplishments in leadership, public speaking and community service were evaluated.


The first activity when they arrived was a pin swap. The 300 plus delegates from all over the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, exchanged 4H pins with each other.

Abigail attended many workshops during her five day trip, where she learned about leadership, advocacy, and public speaking. She also participated in round table discussions regarding how to keep college aged youth involved in 4H programs. Her round table group developed ideas for a program and then created a webinar to be shown to members of the USDA for possible implementation.

Abigail was also able to spend some time touring Washington D.C. She visited the Smithsonian Museum of American History, where her favorite exhibit was of dresses worn by past first ladies.

The highlight of her trip was the time she was able to spend speaking with Congressman Joe Courtney about the importance of 4H and it's programs for youth. She was able to share with him some of the opportunities that she has had because of 4H, such as speaking at public hearings and town meetings.