Katrina Jones

From the ages of eleven to sixteen I spent my weekends and school vacations in 4-H club meetings, volunteering, fundraising, working with animals and learning invaluable skills such as public speaking. When I began in the Saanich 4-H Horse Club I was shy and ultimately motivated to join because I wanted to work with horses. By the time I finished my close to seven years in 4-H, I had held multiple executive positions, competed in public speaking competitions on the provincial level and had moved on to the Saanich Lamb Club where I pursued self-determined projects. Although my love for animals motivated my start in 4-H, it was the leadership skills, public speaking and community volunteerism that truly benefitted me in all my future pursuits. It was 4-H that gave me the confidence and skills to interview for my first job. This confidence is what took me across the country to Halifax, Nova Scotia where I began university at the age of seventeen.

Although I loved the agricultural pursuits of 4-H, I pursued other interests in my post-secondary education. However, the great successes I have had speak to the applicability of the skills taught in 4-H to many broad pursuits. Today, I hold a bachelor’s degree in contemporary studies and a master’s degree in film studies. I have a flourishing career in the arts as a theatre technician and artist. To any young person in 4-H I would like to say, stick with it. The confidence and skills built in the program, for me, were life-changing.