Rachel Wald was recently honored for her work within North Dakota University Extension by receiving the Achievement in Service award. Wald received this award while attending the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals conference in Memphis, Tennessee.
Wald is an agriculture and natural resources Extension agent for McHenry County, North Dakota, and has been with NDSU Extension for six years. Like many county extension agents, she wears many hats in her day-to-day occupation. She works with 4-H youth within McHenry County and helps out with the five 4-H clubs that reside in the county.
“For 4-H, you’re kind of a do-all agent. We do have some county-wide activities we do and within the last couple of years we do an archery shoot within the county, along with a lot of other county activities,'' Ward said.
For McHenry County 4-H members, a county activity must be completed as a requirement to finish the 4-H year. According to Ward, it is not a hard task to accomplish.
“When we have archery there too, it is not hard to complete. That has become super popular and those kids are just loving it,” she said.
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Working so closely with 4-H and its youth, Ward sees firsthand the importance the organization wields on young peoples’ lives and how it helps prepare them for the future. But for her, she finds seeing them flourish into adulthood equally rewarding.
“Seeing the kids in 4-H when things click, or picking up a new hobby, or later in life when they’re giving a speech in front of you and I'm thinking, ‘Man, he did such a good job as a kid and now he’s doing it as an adult,’” she said. “That is awesome. That is the end game, seeing these kids pick it up and run with it. It builds character.”
Ward's diligence to the community and its members was acknowledged when she attended the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals conference in Memphis. She was awarded the Achievement in Service award, which honors those who have been providing outstanding 4-H programming for more than three years, but less than seven.
“It was fantastic. I was kind of speechless,” Ward said. “I just find Extension so rewarding.”
