April 2021 State Council Corner

Throughout the month of April, the State Council Team had been busy. We were able to lead multiple officer trainings, including the state officer training that was held on April 7 via Zoom. One of the highlights of the month was being able to attend Capital Days on April 9-12, and work behind the scenes to help put the event on. The Council was able to introduce different speakers, lead icebreakers, and talk with some of the attendees during the lunch time round table on Saturday. For the month of May, the Council is looking forward to attending more events, both virtual and in-person, and holding a cultural webinar series.

Livy:

Capital Days "behind the scenes" was certainly a unique and special experience. I've attended this event once before as a participant and seeing how everything functions as a State Council member was awesome! I had an amazing time introducing some of the speakers, helping to lead the icebreaker, sitting in on some excellent workshops, and assisting to ensure the event ran smoothly. My favorite workshop that I was a part of was definitely the Advocacy workshop. It had such an inspiring message, and it reminded me that anybody can be an advocate for a cause they're passionate about! Another aspect of Capital Days that I really enjoyed was the roundtable discussion with Senator Scott Martin. The participants had lots of great questions, and Senator Martin was extremely helpful while being a down-to-earth person. To me, the virtual platform did not take anything away from the usual Capital Days environment - everyone still learned a lot about government, interacted with friends or new peers, and had a lot of fun. I even registered to vote after the Voting & Elections workshop!

Izzy:

After experiencing Capital Days this weekend, I have left feeling more educated and inspired. This was my first time attending Capital Days, and it was everything I was expecting and more. I had the opportunity to meet fellow 4-H'ers from across the state and learn fun facts about this amazing state that I had not previously known. This weekend I had attended workshops teaching about civil discourse, going beyond community service, and advocacy. The speakers of the workshops had given me the resources I needed to be successful in these topic areas and have inspired me to take on projects that I am passionate about. My favorite part of the weekend was the Environmental Resource and Energy roundtable where the committee chairman, Senator Yaw, had joined the discussion. Senator Yaw offered the youth in the roundtable with answers to any of their questions and his own opinions and wisdom. This past weekend was very helpful for me and a very enjoyable conference.

Abby:

This was the first Capital Days I have ever attended, while it was not the experience everyone was reminiscing of, I felt the event was well planned out and enjoyable within the comfort of my own home. I still felt passionate about helping my community change and grow for the better as well as learning things the school would never even touch on. For example, the advocacy presentation was an inspiring workshop/presentation, almost a universal language in 4-H. This workshop brought back my fiery passion for advocating change for the better within programs that are slowly dying. To further back up this, the round table I was in was with the chairman of the education committee Senator Martin. Passionately answer questions that everyone had, as well as giving advice for citizenship initiative. This might not have been the normal Capital Days; it was the perfect one for me.

Maria:

My first Capital Days did not disappoint. The virtual aspect has not slowed down Pennsylvania 4-H. Starting Friday night with Icebreaker games and meeting 4-H'ers from all over the state of Pennsylvania helped set the mood for the weekend planned for us. I learned a lot of amazing facts about the state and the differences among areas in the state. Saturday I was able to attend the workshops "Elections and Voter Registration" where we learned to understand the U.S. political system and "Beyond Community Service" where we learned the difference between community service and a learning service project. After attending the workshops on Sunday, "Advocacy" and ''How to be an effective agent for change" I learned more about advocating more for the things I feel passionate about. On Monday I was able to talk with Eric Pauley, Legislative Director for Judy Ward, where he explained more about the work he does and the importance of Committees. Capital Days may have looked different this year but the knowledge everyone left with was still the

Tayler:

Capital Days was better than I could have ever expected. This was the event that I was most excited about this year because I had never been before, and I'm so glad that I was able to go this year! The icebreaker game on Friday night was a great way to kick off the weekend that was full of fun activities and great speakers. I loved hearing from Mr. Knapp about his experience as being an emergency responder. On Saturday, I was able to learn how to register to become a voter and how important community service is. Sunday's speakers taught us about advocacy and what we can do with our voices in order to make a change. On the last day of the event, I got the opportunity to meet with Senator Elder Vogel and talk about his role on the agriculture and rural affairs team in the Senate. I learned so much throughout the conference and am so glad that I was able to attend!