Concord, NC- Jonathon Smith, 4-H Youth Development Agent, and Kathleen Rogers, 4-H Program Assistant, with N.C. Cooperative Extension Orange County were recognized for their achievement during the 2024 North Carolina Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals Annual Conference held in Concord, NC on August 19-21, 2024.

Jonathon and Kathleen received the Jim Kahler Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics award for their engineering summer camp. Rising 6th-8th graders attended the Engineering Design Camp to learn about the engineering design process and careers. Activities included building Rube Goldberg machines and coding. Collaborators included the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, NC State Engineering, and NC A&T Extension. 87% of youth reported they were more interested in learning about careers.

The purpose of the North Carolina Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals is to promote the profession of Extension 4-H and youth work in North Carolina.  The 4-H program is the youth education program of North Carolina Cooperative Extension, based at North Carolina State and North Carolina A&T State Universities. More than 260,000 young people ages 5 through 18 participate in North Carolina 4-H activities each year with the help of 16,700 adult and youth volunteers. You can find more information on 4-H at http://www.nc4h.org.