Five North Dakota 4-H’ers attended the National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Georgia, which was held Nov. 29 to Dec. 3. The North Dakota delegates were Elsa Axtman from Fargo, Preston Emerson from Pembina, Grace Goettle from Mandan, and Bryanna and Bianca Brudwick from Crosby.

National 4-H Congress is an educational experience designed to help 4-H youth expand their leadership skills and make an impact in their own clubs and communities. This gives 4-H’ers the opportunity to meet other youth from around the country, often for the first time. The 2025 theme was “Courage to Grow, Heart to Serve.”

Goettle says that she’d highly recommend the experience to older 4-H’ers: “The whole event made me feel more confident in my abilities as a leader, and I hope to bring some of the things I learned back to the events I help lead in my state.”

Emerson says, “National 4-H Congress was a great event to expand and sharpen all of my leadership and communication skills and to force me out of my comfort zone.”

Bryanna agrees that it taught her to step out of her comfort zone, too: “I’m mostly shy at big events, but I actually had some pretty fun conversations and it was easy to start them at National 4-H Congress.”

Hannah Nordby, a North Dakota 4-H volunteer from Amidon, accompanied the North Dakota youth.

“As a chaperone, it was fun to see the “light bulb” moments when youth from 50 states plus Puerto Rico learn from each other,” says Nordby. “We reflected on the culture and diversity throughout the U.S.”

Applications to serve as a 2025 delegate are due to North Dakota State University Extension 4-H Youth Development Center by Aug. 1, 2025. For more information, contact Rachelle Vettern, NDSU Extension leadership and volunteer development specialist, at 701-231-7541 or rachelle.vettern@ndsu.edu.

4-H is a program of NDSU Extension. The North Dakota 4-H Foundation sponsored this educational opportunity.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – Dec. 19, 2024

Source: Rachelle Vettern, 701-231-7541, rachelle.vettern@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu