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Workforce development

When life gives you lemons, build a jeep

Carl Schmidgall knows how to take a bad situation and make it better. His sister, Korri, wrecked her Jeep when she hit a patch of black ice coming home from basketball practice. She was fine, but the Jeep was totaled. It sat in the machine shed at home for two years before Carl decided to rebuild it, bigger and better. Step one was to put the vehicle back together and see if it could be safely driven. Carl rebuilt one axle, fixed the transfer case, rebuilt the brakes, and worked on the body...
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Illini Summer Academies reveals new wonders for Illinois teens

It's like suddenly seeing the world in a new way. That's how teens attending the Illinois 4-H Illini Summer Academies describe their time studying with University of Illinois instructors this week. From quantum mechanics and mutagenesis to honey bee health and family interactions, U of I staff allowed Academy teens to peek in the windows of emerging technologies, scientific investigation, and human development explored on this great campus. "I'll never look at a movie the same way after this...
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Five lessons every 4-H member knows

Lessons come wrapped in all types of boxes. Here are five lessons every 4-H member knows. #5: You aren't going to win every time, and that's okay. How you lose is just as important as how you win. There's no way you're going to get through life #1 all the time. Real champions accept the judge's rating, evaluate what they can do to improve, and try again. Time and again, life will give you opportunities to practice winning graciously and losing gracefully. The question to ask...
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Help us give that 'first look' to Illinois students

Do you remember your first time on the University of Illinois campus? Sure you do. There's something about walking on the quad for the first time that stays with a person. Illinois 4-H wants to be that 'first look at campus' for Illinois young people, and we do it through our Illini Summer Academies. This year we set a new record … 310 kids in 16 different academies of study. We're just about evenly split between incoming high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. They arrive...
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Youth get taste of college life during 4-H Illini Summer Academies

More than 200 youth experienced a bit of college life during the 2014 Illinois 4-H Illini Summer Academies, sponsored by University of Illinois Extension in cooperation with several departments on campus. High school youth stayed in dorms, experienced campus recreation and food, and spent 15 hours with U of I faculty and grad students in 11 departments during the 4-day conference. The "academies" included aerospace engineering, art and design, creative writing, crop sciences, electrical and...
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Things just got really real for youth living out life in the 'real world'

The real world is a lot tougher than most eighth graders know. Extension's "Welcome to the Real World" brings home that lesson. WTTRW is an experiential learning simulation which shows youth real facts about how the careers they choose and the decisions they make effect the money they have to spend or save each month. Tessa Hobbs-Curley, U of I Extension 4-H youth development educator, recently completed WTTRW training with 467 eighth grade students from...
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'Simply the Best' sparks desire to share, contribute

For 25 years, University of Illinois Extension's "Simply the Best" program in Washington County has mixed the right ingredients to inspire positive change in the lives of 250 junior high youth there a year. High school teens who have been through the program themselves serve as mentors, helping their younger peers learn to make good choices for physical and emotional well-being while standing up against bullying. Extension Program Coordinator Amanda Fox knows the importance of teaching youth...
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Who needs to spend $500 on prom gown when you can craft one yourself

Charlee Walker didn't tell anyone her plan, so imagine the surprise when the 17-year-old 4-H member from Edgar County walked into her senior prom wearing a dress she made . . . out of magazine pages. It took this creative young lady more than two months to design, weave, fold, staple and hot glue her one-of-a-kind party dress. She used photography magazines as her "fabric" because the pages were colorful. Working without a pattern, the teenager said she just "kinda winged it." She also made a...
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