Congratulations to our California 4-H Grown Youth in Action winner, Sruthi Sudarsan!

Sruthi Sudarsan of Alameda County was named the winner of the 2023 4-H Youth in Action Civic Engagement Pillar Award for her diligent work to provide medical and hygiene supplies and educational services to underprivileged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. As the 2023 Civic Engagement pillar winner, Sruthi will receive a variety of honors including a $5,000 higher education scholarship and an official reference letter from a National 4-H Council employee. Furthermore, Sruthi will spend 2023 as the youth spokesperson for national 4-H civic engagement, showcasing her 4-H story, and networking with prominent 4-H alumni throughout the nation.

Despite struggling with social anxiety, Sruthi found the confidence and skills to start her organization, Project C.A.R.E. 

Throughout her adolescence, Sruthi Sudarsan struggled with social anxiety. With the help of her 4-H club public speaking and puppetry projects, she found the voice and confidence to rise, despite those struggles.

“4-H gave me the skills and courage to overcome social anxiety and speak up for myself—and use that courage to help others,” said Sruthi. Empowered by her 4-H community and impassioned by civic engagement, Sruthi used her skills and courage to start her own non-profit organization, Project C.A.R.E. (Comfort And Relief Essentials), a program that provides basic hygiene, medical, and first aid education and assistance to the thousands of homeless individuals in her area. As founder of the program, Sruthi has spent hundreds of service hours recruiting volunteers, planning mask-making workshops, packaging and delivering medical and hygiene kits, and coordinating deliveries to shelters and clinics. Ultimately, donating 13,000 masks to local communities! Her persistent work to alleviate the strains on her community inspires other 4-H'ers to identify community needs, find creative ways to address those needs, and ignite positive change. Sruthi explains it this way: “I've been able to conquer…challenges to empower my peers to identify the needs of their communities and come up with solutions through fundraising and grants”.

Sruthi hopes her outreach and efforts will motivate future generations to rise to the challenge of leadership and community development.

Unsurprisingly, Sruthi's work doesn't stop there. Using her spark of teaching traditional Indian dance to young children, she raised enough money to build and supply a preschool bathroom in Cambodia. She also used her resources to provide the preschool with educational services on the necessity of basic hygiene. Her passions for encouraging youth to overcome personal obstacles and ignite positive change led her to host a mentorship program with Project C.A.R.E. This program trains students to find their civic engagement spark and execute projects using those sparks. She hopes this program will motivate future generations to rise to the challenge of leadership and community development. Sruthi currently has trained over a hundred middle schoolers to become dynamic community leaders and activists. Sruthi also works with younger children, using her puppetry skills to create educational skits about social issues to connect with children ages five to eleven.

Youth in Action by day and California 4-H State Ambassador by night, Sruthi is managing her time to serve with excellence in both working honors. Collaborating with her State Ambassador Team to promote their platform while working with national 4-H associates to cultivate her impact through events, projects, and service. For all that, Sruthi is pushing through her senior year of high school while maintaining her studies, activities, and connections in her community. Sruthi hopes to pursue a neuroscience major at medical school in the future. Her career goal is to be a physician in the field of pediatrics or neonatal medicine.

As both Youth in Action and State Ambassador, Sruthi cultivates her impact through events, service, and projects.

Sruthi's mentors, leaders, friends, and family both in and outside of 4-H are proud to see her conquer challenges and utilize her personal development to make a national impact. We cannot wait to see what more she accomplishes over this next year—and beyond!

The Golden Clover Awards recognize outstanding achievements of members, volunteers, program staff, and groups within the University of California 4-H Youth Development Program.

The 2022 Member of Excellence Golden Clover Award

The Member of Excellence Award recognizes a 4-H member for personal achievement and improvement, setting goals and completing them, excelling beyond expectations, overcoming hardships, and for outstanding and long-term contributions to the 4-H Program. The Member of Excellence Award is sponsored by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation.

Recipient: Johnathan Salters, San Joaquin County

Johnathan Salters earned this award for his longtime contribution to the 4-H program. His service as County and State Ambassador has shown him to be a true leader, planning and representing his County and State at events and conferences on every level. He charismatically inspires and mentors his fellow 4-H'ers. Johnathan excels at partnering with adult volunteers and staff to promote the California 4-H platform. Furthermore, he has a heart for his community, serving homeless children, fire fighters, and many others.

The 2022 Robert Brownlee Science Golden Clover Award

The Robert Brownlee Science Award recognizes science inquiry and experiential learning in 4-H work to help youth increase knowledge, skills and competencies and improve their attitudes about science. This includes increasing science awareness and use in 4-H projects by testing predictions and making sense of observations. The Robert Brownlee Science Award is sponsored by the Robert Brownlee Foundation. In honor of the visionary, Robert Brownlee (1942-1991), the Foundation was established in 1987 to provide financial awards for creating and maintaining innovative programs for youth.

Recipients: Harini Muthu, Alameda County and Sudharsan Gopalakrishnan, Contra Costa County

Harini Muthu earned this award by designing and publishing a cell phone app that logs 4-H activities by Record Book category, which in turn makes the Record Book process less daunting. Harini encountered a setback when working on her Record Book and worked to resolve it not just for herself, but for all California 4-H'ers. Harini pressed through the arduous process of learning a new programming language, coding the app, and making it compatible for all devices. Once the app was created, Harini worked to get the app approved by the State Incentives & Recognition Advisory Committee. With only a few changes, Harini was able to get it approved. The 4-H Activity Tracker is now available for free on the Apple and Google app stores.

Sudharsan Gopalakrishnan earned this award by participating in and presenting at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. Using the science of GIS mapping skills and his passion for being a changemaker for food insecurity, Sudharsan presented his ArcGIS map to over 15,000 conference attendees. The ArcGIS map helps residents determine the healthiness of food in their community. As a member of the National 4-H GIS Team, Sudharsan also has been working on a high-impact initiative called ‘Where's the Food', which works with restaurants and stores to sell healthier foods without losing profits. His Team received a NSF Grant collaboration with UC San Diego to further the Team's efforts to increase access to healthier food options.

 

The 2022 Jack and Robert Clay Outdoor Adventure Golden Clover Award

The Jack and Robert Clay Outdoor Adventure Award recognizes outstanding achievement, leadership, and promotion of 4-H camping and outdoor adventures such as camping, fishing, hiking, climbing, GIS/GPS, among others. The Jack and Robert Clay Outdoor Adventure Award is sponsored by the Friends of Jack and Robert Clay. Following a tragic accident in 1987, this Memorial Award was established by the family and friends of Jack Clay and his son, Robert, who were enthusiastically involved in the 4-H camping and outdoor adventure projects as leader and junior leader in Alameda County.

Recipient: Dean and Kai Wu, Santa Clara County

Dean and Kai Wu earned this award by starting the first Rolling Hills 4-H Fishing Project to share their passion and key techniques for fishing with other urban 4-H'ers. This project started online in 2020 and by 2021, they transitioned to meeting in-person. Shifting from distance-learning activities to hands-on activities was exciting for everyone because many of the project members had never fished before. Using the skills they gained as Fishing Project leaders, Dean and Kai organized a fundraiser fishing tournament for the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University. They raised over $8,000 to support kids who struggle with life threatening food allergies. Dean and Kai Wu not only supported their fellow 4-H members with their skills and passion, but they benefited the broader community as well.

 

The 2022 Fundraising Award Golden Clover Award

The Fundraising Award recognizes an individual and/or group for efforts in fundraising for both financial and in-kind donations generated for local, county, and state levels. Recipients share methods and processes to raise funds and educate others in the fundraising process. The Fundraising Award is sponsored by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation.

Recipient: County Judging Team, Placer County

The Placer County Judging Team earned this award for their marketing and fundraising efforts to raise money for their county. To fundraise, this team of two 4-H members – Myah Davidson and Joey Stephani - started a “Knowledge Skill-A-Thon” at each of their counties' fairs. They contacted their fairs, proposed their idea, and got both fairs to agree to the event. They spent hours creating and finalizing their idea of a youth-led knowledge test and marketed their event. The “Knowledge Skill-A-Thon” had an amazing turnout. The team also received a $1,000 add-on from an observer for their “hard work” and dedication. Through their successful event, they created a memorable learning opportunity for youth of all ages.

The 2022 Volunteer Leader Mentoring Golden Clover Award

The Volunteer Leader Mentoring Award recognizes a volunteer who changes the life of a peer or youth in a positive manner. The Volunteer Leader Mentoring Award is sponsored by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation.

Recipient: Michelle Sawyer, Sonoma County

Michelle Sawyer earned this award for embodying a “4-H is about the kids” attitude and her unwavering support of the 4-H members in her county. On top of being an active project member, county council member, and club leader for over ten years, Michelle has been a confidante and friend to many members. She always pushes youth to demonstrate and test their skills at events, both within and outside Sonoma County. Michelle goes above and beyond to encourage and inspire youth at 4-H camp, fair auctions, community service projects, and countless other events.

 

The 2022 Emerging 4-H Leader Golden Clover Award

The Emerging 4-H Award recognizes a volunteer with five or fewer years of excellent 4-H volunteer service in the 4-H Youth Development Program. The Emerging 4-H Leader award is sponsored by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation.

Recipient: Elizabeth McWhorter, Alameda County

Elizabeth McWhorter earned this award for her broad range of contributions to the 4-H program at the state and county levels. In 2020, Elizabeth joined 4-H and has provided excellent service in just 2 years! Her service on the State 4-H STEM Education Advisory Committee led her to promote youth engagement in STEM and STEM-related careers at various events, including the State Leadership Conference and State 4-H Field Day. Elizabeth's county work includes Alameda County Ambassador Co-Advisor, Countywide Career Exploration project leader, and co-planner for several events and fundraisers. Elizabeth exemplifies dependability, competency, and commitment to 4-H and its members.

 

The 2022 Collaboration & Outreach Golden Clover Award

The Collaboration & Outreach Award recognizes individuals or groups who increase awareness of the 4-H Program with communities that are new to 4-H. The Collaboration & Outreach Award is sponsored by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation.

Recipient: Nature Explorers Camp, Santa Clara Count

The Nature Explorers Camp earned this award by increased interest in environmental education through a 5-day 4-H day-camp for Latinx children in K-3rd grade. Camp teen and adult leaders worked to promote the camp and provide Spanish translations for campers and their families. This camp partnered with several Cooperative Extension programs and other youth-serving programs. Each partner group led one day of activities, ranging from Project Learning Tree to Valley Water and “Veggielution” field trips.

 

 

The 2022 Civic Engagement Golden Clover Award

The Civic Engagement Award recognizes a group or individual for contributions that demonstrate living the definition of civic engagement: working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference. The Civic Engagement Award is sponsored by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation.

Recipient: Civic Engagement Academy Planning Team, Statewide Team

The Civic Engagement Academy Planning Team earned this award by planning and hosting the one-time, five-day Civic Engagement Academy. This statewide conference was organized in under three months. Both youth and adult delegates learned more about civic engagement and how to make a difference in their communities. The delegates developed a community service-learning project to ignite positive change in their counties. 

 

 

 

The 2022 Special Event Group Award Golden Clover Award

The Special Event Award recognizes a member and/or volunteer for individual leadership roles within 4-H camps, conferences, and trainings. This award is given to a group for outstanding educational events or activities that involve youth-adult partnerships in planning and delivery, reach a wide array of youth, and strive to meet local needs. The Special Event Award is sponsored by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation.

Recipient: Public Speaking & Communications Advisory Committee

The Public Speaking & Communications Statewide Advisory Committee earned this award for their research and programming to support 4-H'ers to learn and practice skills, improve attitudes toward public speaking, and strengthen self-efficacy. This committee was formed in 2020. In just two years, they have coordinated regional and state public speaking events, activities, research, and evaluation. This committee of 26 members has greatly aided the California 4-H program to help youth improve their public speaking confidence and abilities.

 

 

 

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Learn more about the 4-H Golden Clover Award, eligibility standards, and award categories.

 

The State 4-H Advisory Committees play an important role in improving the programs, processes, and opportunities in the University of California 4-H Youth Development Program. Applications for State Advisory Committees are open now until May 31, 2022. Youth are especially encouraged to join and share the youth perspective on topics that the Advisory Committee addresses.

Thanks to the work of our State Advisory Committees, we have been able to create new opportunities for 4-H youth, such as:

Public Speaking Advisory Committee: Piloting two new categories for State Presentation Events at this year's State Field Day.

Camping Advisory Committee: Plans and hosts the California 4-H Camping Conference every two years. The committee was also awarded 2020 Eleanor P. Eells Excellence in Research in Practice Award for their work to engage camps in evaluation review and the program improvement process.

STEM Advisory Committee: Created two new events for State Field Day – the 4-H STEM Shark Tank and 4-H Coding Challenge. Both events were introduced during the virtual State Field Day and were so popular that we are bringing them back to the In-person event.

Civic Engagement Advisory Committee: Launched a voter registration and information drive and also supported the Census project.

Incentives & Recognition Advisory Committee: Created new processes for virtual record book evaluation and submission, and created an updated County Ambassador program guide.

These are just a few of the recent accomplishments and contributions that our Advisory Committees have made to improve the 4-H Youth Development Program. Their impact influences state events and activities and supports the growth of opportunities for 4-H members statewide.

Using a youth-adult partnership framework, committees meet throughout the year both virtually and in-person. Because the work of Advisory Committees can span more than one program year, adults serve a two year term. Youth serve a one-year term, and have an option to continue an additional year.

Apply by May 31, 2022

Youth and Adult Volunteers are highly encouraged to apply! Please see the State Advisory Committee webpage for more information about each committee and to apply.

Editor Note: The following essay was submitted by Joseph Rowlands for a 4-H scholarship from the Napa County 4-H Council.

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4-H has had a drastic impact on my life. Having been born with cerebral palsy meant that I required many therapies on a weekly basis. I always needed people to assist me physically with activities. This meant that I didn't have much confidence in myself.

I joined 4-H at the age of eleven and raised two goats. Suddenly I was responsible for the care and well-being of two living things. They didn't care whether I was as strong as my peers, they just wanted food and water. I found that my strength improved, my confidence grew and I loved showing at the fair, even though I still required an assistant to help me control the goat. The next year I showed all by myself and placed! I realized then that I could do anything, my disability would not stop me. I didn't need a first place ribbon to feel like a winner, I was one as I was as capable as everyone else. 4-H gave me the confidence to believe in my own abilities.

The summer after middle school, I attended 4-H camp, having never been away from home before. My oxygen requirements have always meant that people were nervous to have me without my mother, just in case something went wrong. 4-H was amazing and said, “of course I could attend,” and they bent over backwards to make the week happen. This was my first experience being away from home. It started to put a seed in my head: “I could go away to college. I am capable of leaving home and I will be fine.” I will be moving to Sonoma State in the fall, living on campus. Close enough that I can still keep my regular doctors, yet independent. 4-H helped me to be independent.

I have been a member of Valley Ranchers 4-H since I was eleven years old. I have raised goats and steers. I used to be mentored by the older youths in the program and now I am one of the mentors. I have been involved in various projects through 4-H, such as the robotics club, arts and crafts, summer camp, presentation day, favorite food day and various other activities. Over the years I decided that I wanted to be more than just a member and joined as an officer. I became Club Treasurer for two years, then I became Club Co-President for two years, this year I am Club President. I am a Napa County 4-H Ambassador and I am also on the Napa County 4-H council as the member at large.

Involved in my community

Prior to COVID, I was involved in the robotics club at Justin-Siena High School. I was also in the choir at my church and very involved in the youth group. Unfortunately, once Covid-19 started, I had to give up most of my extracurricular activities. Over the years I have done a lot of volunteering work. I was one of the teen leaders of a STEM event at the Boys & Girls Club. I have been a Vacation Bible School counselor for various summers since middle school at Saint Apollinaris Catholic Church. I was a tribe leader at the 4-H summer camp in Angwin. I volunteered through Gigg at the Community Projects Christmas tree sale every year since middle school. I handed out water to runners on Thanksgiving mornings at the Turkey Trot held at the Napa Valley College, amongst other activities.

Technology and Robotics

Technology has a way of making the world accessible for people like me who have disabilities. From a young age I learned to program robots and I see the potential use of robotics to better our world. Robotics has uses in many ways: from the medical field, to the car industry, to assisting people with disabilities in leading a more independent life. I decided that I would like to pursue a career in technology and I hope to narrow down a specific field during these next four years of college.

I will be attending Sonoma State University and majoring in Computer Science. This scholarship would change my life. It would help to open doors to me that have previously been closed. As a recipient of a 4-H scholarship, I would utilize this scholarship to help with my college expenses such as my tuition, room, board and books.

Supportive 4-H Leaders

As for the 4-H leaders I have come into contact with, they are so numerous to mention. I have had nothing but amazing 4-H leaders who have supported me throughout my 4-H career:

• Jennifer Wade-Yeo, Valley Ranchers 4-H leader who has believed in me and encouraged me to try out for officer positions, ambassador positions and the 4-H council. She has always been such a great mentor, without her encouragement I am not sure I would have applied.
• Tammy Hill, who believed in me and my abilities and encouraged me to not only enjoy camp as a camper but to come back and be a tribe leader! I don't know if I would have had the confidence to try for tribe leader without your encouragement. Again, when you were interviewing me for the Ambassador position and I stumbled through my interview, you helped me find some talking points helping me through the process.
• Mrs. Maria Thomason, the Robotics leader, has always been so encouraging.
• Jennifer Goodrich who has been awesome in the leadership group
• Jennifer Jensen who has been amazing with the leadership project and the ambassador group!
• Of course Paul Tarap has been another mentor that could not go without being mentioned. He is a 4-H leader and he is the Ag4Youth leader, but I could not mention one group without the other as I would not have been in 4-H without Ag4Youth.

I know I am missing leaders that I have had interactions with, but I honestly could not talk about one leader standing out over anyone else as 4-H only has amazing leaders (at least in my experience). Everyone I have been in contact with has truly been a wonderful role model, encouraging and willing to bend over backwards to help.

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Update from Tammy Hill, 4-H Volunteer for Napa County 4-H Camp

Joseph will be receiving the Polly Wagenknecht Memorial Scholarship from the Napa County 4-H Council.