A Family Affair

4-H broadens horizons, develops life skills for siblings

Story by Susan Collins-Smith | Photos by Kevin Hudson

When Becky Baker enrolled her three children in 4-H, her main goal was to get them involved in the public speaking program.

“I was looking for a way for them to learn about and participate in public speaking,” Becky explains about her children, who are all now in their early 20s. “I wanted them to have that skill and the experiences that come with it because being able to talk in front of people is such an important skill to have.

“When we joined, I told them public speaking is the only thing I would make them do. But once they got into 4-H and saw all the other things they could do, they wanted to try all different kinds of activities,” she continues. 4-H is a youth development program delivered by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Throughout their time in 4-H, Morgan, Jessica, and Jonathan also all participated in various disciplines of shooting sports, the equine program, poultry chain, and beef, poultry, and pork cooking activities.

“Once we joined the program, I also insisted they participate in shooting sports because I wanted them to learn about gun safety. Glen [Becky’s husband] hunts, and we have guns around the house,” Becky adds. “We did it all—archery, rifle, and shotgun—everything.”

The whole family acknowledges that the siblings’ involvement in 4-H has contributed to the successful, well-rounded adults they are today, helping them learn responsibility, perseverance, the ability to adapt, and a few things about themselves.

“I think it’s the best program out there, and not enough people know about it,” Becky says. “My kids were able to do so much and try so many things. If they were interested in it, I let them try it.

“My one condition was that they keep their grades up, and they all had straight A’s. I didn’t require that, but they all did it.”

It’s not surprising that the siblings got involved in the equine program because their family rides and raises horses and competes in various shows. Both Becky and Glen have had horses since childhood. Glen is also a professional farrier, also known as a blacksmith. Currently, the family has 19 horses. The couple also volunteered with the 4-H equine program for more than 15 years while their children were participating.

All three siblings found a program they loved. The equine program was Jessica’s favorite, although she took part in archery, cooking activities, and other programs.

“I really liked that I could participate in other disciplines of equine competitions because we did mainly barrel racing outside of 4-H,” explains Jessica, who holds a mechanical engineering degree from MSU. “Getting to do other disciplines, like goat tying, halter judging classes, team penning, and sorting cows, was fun, and it was also good for our horses, letting them learn and do different events.”

But it was more than fun.

“4-H helped me learn how to adapt, and how to see things through to the end,” she says. “Some things are harder to learn than others, and you might not get it right off the bat. Having had those experiences really helped me push through some challenging times or anytime I’m learning something different.”

Jonathan found he loved shooting sports so much so that when he began pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at MSU two years ago, he chose a new rifle over a car.

“We told him ‘You can have a new rifle or a car,’” Becky remembers. “He chose the rifle. He’s shooting 1,000 rounds at a time, which can be rough on your shoulder.”

Jonathan participates in multiple competitions each year as an individual or as a member of the university’s shooting sports team. Some of those competitions pit him against career marksmen from around the world. He has won multiple awards in 4-H and other competitions. Last summer, he won the Junior Gold award in singles and doubles at the 2024 Grand American World Trapshooting Championship in Illinois.

“That is a fierce competition with people who do this for a living, and being in school, I don’t practice as much as some of these people do,” Jonathan points out.

But he says his experiences in 4-H helped prepare him for such gritty contests and for life in general.

“The first time I went to state competition, I didn’t know that I would have to shoot in different disciplines. We didn’t know until we got there what we would be shooting,” says Jonathan, who also participated in 4-H poultry chain and cooking activities.

“Being in stressful situations like that—showing up and just shooting whatever—got me ready for the trap shoot and other contests I participate in now. Those experiences also helped me in life. I learned to keep moving forward in everything I do. To keep trying and to not give up. Even with raising chickens—they were my responsibility. If I didn’t take care of those chickens every day, no one was going to do that for me. It’s the same in life,” he affirms.

Morgan, who enjoyed participating in 4-H poultry chain, says it was a project that she enjoyed at the time and not much beyond that.

“I had a lot of fun with chickens,” she happily remembers. “There are two aspects to that project—the raising of the animals and the recordkeeping. I really enjoyed the hands-on part of taking care of them, and if you know me, you know I am all about an Excel spreadsheet.”

“It takes several months to complete it, and you are rewarded for it in the end with a sense of accomplishment.”

Public speaking was a constant for all of them and something they all say gave them confidence. It helped them learn not only to speak in front of crowds but also to interact personally with others.

“Public speaking helped me have a conversation with people and to be able to ask questions,” says Morgan, who holds mechanical engineering degrees from Princeton and MSU. “It helped us get comfortable with the uncomfortable. That was true of a lot of things we did in 4-H.”

Morgan and her family continues to encourage anyone to get involved in 4-H.

“4-H is the perfect opportunity to try different things. Even if you think you can’t participate because you don’t have an animal or a way to house an animal or a way to get to the meetings, just go to one meeting,” she urges. “Talk to them, and they will be willing to help you. That’s the other part of 4-H. It’s a community where you can find mentors and people who will help each other.

“For us, it also made our family unit stronger because we were all involved in the same or similar things. Even though we were in different age categories, we practiced together, and we called each other out when we weren’t doing well. We all felt that responsibility for ourselves and each other to stay at the right level,” Morgan continues.

Brad Jones, MSU Extension agent in Stone County, worked with the Baker siblings during their time in 4-H, and says they are a great example of how 4-H can impact young people as well as families.

“They will tell you that 4-H has had a major influence on them and helped them accomplish many goals,” Brad says. “They are all very impressive.

“Not only were they accomplished as 4-H’ers, but their scholarly achievements are also remarkable. All three were valedictorians of their classes. Both Morgan and Jessica had perfect ACT scores. Jonathan missed it by two points and is still mad about it,” Brad jests.