My name is Elizabeth Gangwer. I am a third-year student at Oregon State University. I'm in human development and family sciences with a public health minor. A lot of my experience comes from the 4-H program, although I have worked with the Junior Master Gardener and Junior Master Naturalist program through Osu!

Extension in Lane County. I was raised going through 4-H since fourth grade. All the way through high school I showed goats, pigs.

I did non-animal projects like welding, baking, photography. I was also a part of the leadership team. I was an ambassador for three years, president of the leadership team, and I'm a leader for 4-H for goats and leadership.

As well as I work with the staff during the summers to support the fair preparation. I grew up in Lane County in Eugene, on the west side of Eugene, and I've been there for about 20 years now. I think Lane County Extension is essential for Lane County as a whole because it gives a community for people. It gives youth a place to belong. It gives adults a place to belong as well. Through many programs 4-H, Master Food Preservers, Master Gardeners, the resource for people to come to learn and get hands-on experience in many aspects of education. For young people who don't know much about Lane County Extension, I would say it's a place to make friends, build a community, and learn more about yourself as well as the community and world around you and how to make a positive impact on that community with those close with you. Lane County Extension and 4-H has impacted my life because it's made me, I'd say it's kind of made me who I am today in a way. It's given me confidence, it's taught me leadership skills, citizenship skills, teaches me to give back to my community, it teaches me to always keep learning.

Don't just stay comfortable, go outside your comfort zone, and it's taught me to care for those around me as well. I would love to work with Extension after graduation. Even as a volunteer but also as a faculty member, I'd love to be a part of the 4-H team and keep working with Extension because I know it has makes a positive impact on the community around us and I want to be part of that difference. One of the opportunities that I got through 4-H that has stuck out the most to me was working with Yay 4-H, Youth Advocates for Health. I got to teach in a middle school classroom when I was in high school and a lot of these kids came from a lot of different backgrounds, a lot of them had trouble at home, financial stress, not a lot of resources, but when they're in this classroom they're excited to learn and that made me excited to be there and it showed me that I want to work with youth when I graduate from college and as I go through college as well and it taught me that no matter what cards are given in life that you can make it positive and keep giving back to your community.