GREAT FALLS — The Montana 4-H Foundation has awarded nearly $40,000 in scholarships to 45 students across the state, helping young Montanans turn their educational dreams into reality. I spoke with two recipients to learn how this support is already paving the way for their futures.
Quentin Shores reports - watch the video here:
“I was excited, receiving scholarships like this one allows me to not worry so much about paying for my undergraduate studies,” said Leann Murphy, who has been involved in 4-H for years—raising livestock, building projects, and volunteering across Montana.
Kelsey Proue, program manager for the Montana 4-H Foundation, says the impact of 4-H reaches far beyond agriculture. “4-H youth is one of the largest or is the largest out of school organization that's really helping students learn leadership skills. It's providing on-the-ground, hands-on skills as well. You have sewing, baking, cooking skills that they might be learning, but they're also learning robotics and STEM education.”
With a strong foundation in community and mentorship, 4-H programs now offer an array of experiences giving students a head start both inside and outside the classroom.
“4-H is such a big part of my life, and there have been so many volunteers and people that have really inspired me to carry the program on, because it really wouldn’t be possible without volunteers and adults who are just supportive of youth and their goals,” said Carly LaChere, an incoming freshman at Carroll College studying nursing.
For Carly, the long-term lessons of 4-H will carry forward as she plans to give back as a volunteer, club leader, or even a future superintendent. “I'm kind of going into it with the mindset of I just want to help as many people as possible. And for me, that might look like helping rural communities and Montana.”
Leann Murphy, meanwhile, sees nursing as just the beginning. “In the future I'm looking forward to finishing nursing school. I have three more years left. It's a four-year program. And then following nursing school, I'm hoping to work for a few years as a nurse. Hopefully in the critical care setting, ICU setting.”
Whether their ambitions lead to the ICU or back to their hometowns, this year’s 4-H scholars are proof of what Montana youth can achieve—with support from their communities.
