Former 4-Her returns as summer internFree Access


Two years ago, Abby Ignaszewski walked across the stage to receive her diploma at Jackson County Central High School in Jackson. Now, she’s returned to the county as the Jackson County 4-H program’s summer intern.
A lifelong 4-Her, Ignaszewski started out as a Cloverbud, attending summer camps, showing livestock and building various projects. This summer, she’ll be helping younger kids do the same.
“I showed swine and I did craft projects, like making tie blankets and pottery,” Ignaszewski said. “I was president and secretary of my club at one point, so that taught me a lot of leadership skills and helped me get out of my bubble.”
A forensic science major, Ignaszewski is currently studying at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Once she learned about the summer position in Jackson County, she decided to apply.
“I remember attending day camps when I was a kid and I wanted to be on the other side of that,” she said. “I get to plan the day camps that we’ll have, and I will get things ready for the fair, making sure our 4-Hers have everything they need to take their projects to the state fair.”
Ignaszewski said being in charge of preparing the 4-H summer day camps was a bit unnerving at first — she said she initially felt she had to come up with all new materials by herself — but as she spent time looking at other successful clubs, bouncing ideas off her coworkers and thinking about what she would want to see in a summer camp, she was able to create a number of interesting experiments and magic tricks to teach the kids.
“Regan, our 4-H extension educator, got the theme together, and we got some ideas from another 4-H region in Utah, so I was able to bring experiments and ideas from their materials and add some of my own as well,” Ignaszewski said. “I will lead all of the day camps and I’ll be running the science experiments and helping the kids have the supplies they need to do them.”
As it turns out, the skills Ignaszewski learned as a member of the county’s 4-H program have paid dividends as she learns how to help kids have the same experiences she did growing up.
It’s also given her new appreciation for the work 4-H leaders and parents put into helping the kids have a good year.
“You realize how much work goes into making these activities successful,” she said. “I really like learning about how things are done, so getting the chance to be on the other side and plan these activities is really eye-opening and enjoyable.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.