Alice, Kelli, Jack and Nikhita are the winners of this year’s 4-H Youth In Action Awards. Each received a $500 mini-grant.

ROANOKE, Virginia — Four 4-H members in Virginia were given awards for their work in the 4-H Youth In Action Program.

This program honors four young leaders from different backgrounds and points of view in the four core areas of 4-H: agriculture, civic engagement, healthy living, and science, technology, engineering, and math. Thursday, the awards were given out.

Alice Milton won both the Healthy Living Award and the Youth in Action Award. Milton will have chances to be a Virginia 4-H spokesperson.

Award for Agriculture for Kelli Garrett.

Jack Woodard: STEM Award.

Award for Civic Engagement. Nikhita Saravanan.

Jeremy Johnson is the state 4-H leader for Virginia. He said, “Each of these young people has done a lot for their communities and for 4-H. We’re giving them these awards to show how much we appreciate how far they’ve gone. Each of these amazing young people shows what 4-H is all about and how it can help the next generation of leaders reach their full potential.

Each of the four winners got a $500 mini-grant to work on a big community project, recognition at a formal award ceremony, a full scholarship to attend the Virginia State 4-H Congress in Blacksburg, a chance to be the Virginia 4-H youth pillar spokesperson, and help and guidance to apply for the 2022 National 4-H Youth Leadership Awards.

Alice Milton

Milton has been in Virginia 4-H for eight years. He lives in Bedford. During that time, 4-H helped her become a caring leader, which changed her life.

“Because I was shy, it was hard for me to say what I thought, and I would get lost in what other people thought,” Milton said. “4-H taught me how important it is for young people to lead and made me into a leader who speaks up. Without 4-H, I never would have found my passion for helping young people and raising awareness about mental health.

Milton has been going to the Virginia 4-H Teen Summit since 2020. This event has taught her about advocating for young people and about mental health.

“I took this back to my community and started a youth-led video campaign at my school to raise awareness about mental health,” Milton said. “This not only made me and my friends feel good, but it also helped show students that they are worthy. As a leader, I hope to inspire and motivate others to make positive changes in their club, community, country, and world.”

Over the next year, Milton wants to promote mental health as a way to live a healthy life.

“I think mental health has a lot to do with a lot of the problems America is facing right now,” she said. “By learning about mental health and how important it is, steps can be taken to get rid of the stigma that surrounds it. Awareness and education about mental health help give a complete picture of healthy living, which is important for the growth of young people. I plan to keep advocating by raising awareness about mental health in my area and across the country.”

Kelli Garrett

Garrett, from Washington County, has been in 4-H for 12 years. She said that it has helped her develop her character, leadership skills, and love for agriculture.

“Coming from an agriculture background, my father highly encouraged me to become a member of 4-H in order to gain more knowledge about the rural area I live in,” she said. “Having to deal with simple problems that scared me when I was young in the safe environment of 4-H made me a strong person who is now ready to deal with any problems I might face in the real world.”

Garrett chose to teach her community about the farm-to-table process as part of her work. She did this by making an educational video and preparing a speech to go with it.

“My video was used again when I showed it to my FFA chapter, school 4-H club, local middle school FFA chapter, my community’s Kiwanis Club, and a Washington County Farm Bureau meeting as the keynote speaker,” Garrett said. “I’ve shared what I know about agriculture through a news interview, a radio interview, a podcast, social media, and a class for young people about animal science.”

During the next year, Garrett will speak out for agriculture in public and write articles that will be published across the state.

Mr. Jack Woodard

Woodard lives in Fauquier County and has been in Virginia 4-H for four years. It was through Virginia 4-H that he learned to love robotics. As president of his robotics club, he got better at being a leader, and he has competed in more than one public speaking contest.

He was inspired by his time in Virginia 4-H to start a computer club in his town.

He said, “I got enough interested 4-H members together to start this club, and at our first meeting in September, we voted for officers.” “Our service project will be to help out a local charity called Computers in Education, which recycles school laptops and sends them to people in developing countries.”

Over the next year, Woodard will promote STEM by letting young people in Fauquier County know about STEM opportunities through 4H and other volunteer opportunities.

Woodard said, “There are many ways for young people to learn about STEM and get involved in it.” “I want to get the word out about the chances.”

Nikhita Saravanan

Saravanan, a Henrico County 4-H member for seven years, had her life changed by her time in Virginia 4-H. During her time in 4-H, she learned important life skills like how to be a leader, have confidence in herself, and understand other people’s feelings.

Saravanan said, “I’ve always tried to make a difference in my community and use my skills to help other people.” “4-H has helped me grow as a person and has also helped my community grow.”

She said that the Virginia Teen Summit was one event that helped her become a better leader and showed her how to inspire others and make your community a better place to live.

Saravanan and her sister started a nonprofit called 4 Art 2 Heart in 2020. They did this to combine their love of art and helping others with their desire to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Saravanan said, “Because of the pandemic, the annual MS walk was canceled. This was a key event for raising money.” “We started giving free online art classes to people of all ages all over the country. We also used the classes to raise awareness about multiple sclerosis and asked our students to donate to help the cause.”

In 2022, they went back to art class, but this time it was for a different reason.

“We realized that we had to get the word out about stress and help communities directly. We worked on the idea for almost two years before getting a $10,000 grant from Projects for Peace to make art nooks all over Virginia,” Saravanan said.

These art nooks have been put up in three places in Virginia. They have sketchbook paper, pencils, markers, crayons, colored pencils, and stencils, all of which can be used for free by anyone.

Saravanan said, “We wanted to make a permanent way to relieve stress and also give people a chance to explore and express themselves without any social or economic barriers.” “My sister and I planned and set up these art classes and the way the Art Nooks work. We also worked with Henrico 4-H, VCE [Virginia Cooperative Extension], and the Department of Henrico County Department of Recreation and Parks and got a lot of help from them.

Saravanan plans to promote civic engagement over the next year through her non-profit organization, 4 Art 2 Heart, and by holding public events at art nooks.