Danielle Schnurer gives 4-H a lot of credit in her life.
“Without 4-H I wouldn’t have been the person I am today,” said Schnurer, who this year was given the Premier’s Award, Alberta’s highest honour in the rural youth program.
When Schnurer joined 4-H as a peewee member at age nine she was the “shiest person in the world.”
Today at 17, Schnurer can speak to any size crowd, has confidence in interviews and uses the leadership skills she learned through 4-H every day, said the Elk Point student.
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If there’s a problem at home or in school, it’s Schnurer who steps forward to guide the discussion.
“I’m always taking a leadership role,” said Schnurer, who was given the premier’s award during the annual 4-H Selections Program at Olds College this spring.
Throughout the 4-H year, each participant is awarded points for participation in 4-H events.
Points are awarded for positions held in the organization, events that they participated in, places they travel with the club and club projects. 4-H members can win trips based on those points, including a trip to Selections.
While at Selections this spring, Schnurer was also chosen to become one of 53 4-H Ambassadors, whose job it is to promote 4-H to rural youth in Canada and the United States.
“It’s my job this year to visit all the 4-H regions of Alberta and spread the word of 4-H,” said Schnurer, whose goal is to recruit new members and let existing members know about different 4-H programs and events.
“I want to make sure they know the benefits of 4-H,” said Schnurer, who is a member of the Elk Point Saddle Slickers and Elk Point Multi Club.
“I love this program and I know I’ll love spreading the word.”
After finding out she was chosen to become a 4-H ambassador, Schnurer and seven other Premier’s finalists were given 10 minutes to prepare to be interviewed by a panel of three judges. The group debated topics like the destruction of the World Trade Centre and the disappearance of the family farm, before moving on to one-on-one interviews. Based on voting by her peers, counsellors and judges, Schnurer was given the Premier’s award.
4-H is Alberta’s longest running rural youth program. More than 8,000 members and 2,600 leaders participate in 442 clubs across the province.
