{"id":9966,"date":"2017-04-07T07:00:56","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T11:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/?p=9966"},"modified":"2025-11-24T14:47:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T19:47:53","slug":"4-h-fix-standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2017\/04\/07\/4-h-fix-standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants\/","title":{"rendered":"4-H Fix: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

By Ron Drum, Statewide 4-H Program Professional\/Associate Director 4-H Resource Development<\/em><\/p>\n

Were you a 4-H Member? <\/strong>UMaine 4-H wants to hear your story.\u00a0Please take a moment to fill out our short form and Tell Us Your Story<\/a>!<\/p>\n

No, this blog post isn\u2019t done, but you are correct that this is how I usually end my 4-H Fix<\/em> posts! BTW, thanks for knowing that! It means you\u2019ve been reading them all the way through to the end! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

So whatsup with that question?<\/p>\n

In an effort to be totally transparent, I\u2019ll tell you! Obviously, we want to hear from former 4-H\u2019ers, YOU, our 4\u2011H ALUMNI.<\/p>\n

OK, wait a moment. I don\u2019t know about you but, frankly, this whole business about what version of this word to use and when to use it is, for me at least, a tad overwhelming; confusing to say the least. Is it alum, alums, alumni, alumnae, you say po-TA-to, I\u2019ll say po-TAH-to; yikes, just what IS right? Latin. SMH.<\/p>\n

So I looked up \u201calumni<\/a>\u201d in the online Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary. Here is what I found:<\/p>\n

Full Definition of alumnus<\/em><\/p>\n

plural alumni<\/em><\/p>\n

1: a person who has attended or has graduated from a particular school, college, or university<\/em><\/p>\n

2: a person who is a former member, employee, contributor, or inmate<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cINMATE\u201d!? Even so, I guess former 4-H\u2019ers fall under #2. Then it goes on to say:<\/p>\n

Many people are comfortable using the word\u00a0alumni<\/em>\u00a0to refer to someone who was a student of a particular school. However, others feel quite strongly that this is an error and that the following forms should be used:\u00a0alumnus<\/em>\u00a0(for one male),\u00a0alumni<\/em>\u00a0(for multiple males, or for a mix of males and females),\u00a0alumna<\/em>\u00a0(for one female), and\u00a0alumnae<\/em>\u00a0(for multiple females). The shortened form alum<\/em>\u00a0and its plural form\u00a0alums<\/em>\u00a0began to be used in the 19th<\/sup> Century. Initially,\u00a0alum<\/em>\u00a0was widely viewed as highly colloquial or informal, but is increasing in use as a gender-neutral alternative.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ahhh. \u201cGender neutral alternative.\u201d I like that. That means I don\u2019t have to remember which version to use, -ni or -na or \u2011nae or -nus. Just \u201calum\u201d or, if there are many, \u201calums.\u201d Simple. Yes. I like that. Besides, it\u2019s been used since the 19th<\/sup> Century and I had ancestors in the 19th<\/sup> Century and who wants to argue with ANCESTORS? Not ME! Alum(s) it is!<\/p>\n

So back to the question at hand. We (4-H) really haven\u2019t done a very good job over the years of keeping track of our (Ready?) ALUMS! — that is, our 4-H members after they left 4\u2011H. Reality is that a very few, but only a few, states have! But we\u2019ve seen the error of our ways. We want to reconnect with our ALUMS.<\/strong> There is even a national push to reconnect with former 4-H\u2019ers. It started last year with a national web page<\/a> where you can register as a 4-H Alum and there is even a national spokesperson to encourage you to do so (Former Georgia 4-H Member and now Country Music Icon Jennifer Nettles<\/a>)<\/p>\n

We (UMaine 4-H) do also, well, at least we have the place to register! (Tell Us Your Story<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

And if you were a 4-H Member in a state other than Maine, I bet that state has a place where you can register because they want to hear from you as well!<\/p>\n

NOW there is even a NATIONAL CONTEST you can \u201center\u201d that will help you identify yourself as a 4-H alum! Here is how it works:<\/p>\n

4-H alums from across the nation are being asked to raise their hands to support the next generation of true leaders. Every alum\u2019s raised hand is a vote towards a $20,000 award for the 4-H state with the most alum hands raised. So if Maine gets enough hands raised, Maine 4-H will get the 20 grand!<\/p>\n

Want to \u201cRaise Your Hand\u201d for Maine? Here is what to do:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Raise Your Hand: <\/strong>Go to 4-H.org\/RaiseYourHand<\/a> to show your pride as a 4-H alum and vote for MAINE!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. It\u2019s all about MAINE: <\/strong>Raising your hand is a vote towards a $20,000 award for the state with the most alums\u2019 hands raised, which, in this case, will be MAINE! Second place gets $10,000 and third place gets $5,000.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Pay it Forward: <\/strong>Tweet, post and share your #4HGrown experience or support and tag fellow alums asking them to raise their hands for MAINE (or, in a show of good sportsmanship, for their state if not MAINE \ud83d\ude42 ) at 4-H.org\/RaiseYourHand<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        So why? What\u2019s all the ruckus about?<\/p>\n

        Well, three things actually. Money is one of them. Truth be told, if you tell us you were once a 4-H member, someone, like me, is probably going to ask you to donate money to help support the 4-H program of today. If you went to the National 4-H Alumni web page<\/a> noted earlier, you probably noticed a large, orange \u201cflag\u201d in the upper right corner of the page that included one word: DONATE.<\/p>\n

        \"screen<\/a><\/p>\n

        The theory is that someone who falls into the \u201cAlum\u201d category, probably has a job or perhaps has reached the age of retirement, so, the theory continues, has the ability to offer financial support to the program that helped shape his or her life. And, knowing what it has done for you, who wouldn\u2019t want to support it so it (4-H, that is) can do for the young people of today the same as it did for you \u201cback in the day\u201d? Right?<\/p>\n

        And, BTW, if you want to do that, to donate to UMaine 4-H, here is how: Support UMaine 4-H<\/a>.<\/p>\n

        The second reason we are seeking to reconnect is potential growth of the volunteer work-force. Yes, \u201cHands to Larger Service\u201d lives on past your 4-H Membership years! The 4-H Program exists because so many good people step forward, volunteering to \u201cmake the best better.\u201d I\u2019ve often said that of all the elements that are in place that allow us to implement 4-H (4-H Curriculum, County 4-H Staff, State 4-H Staff, National 4-H Staff, etc), there is only one that, if removed, would cause 4-H to cease to be, almost instantly — the Volunteers.<\/p>\n

        It is how many ALUMS \u201cdonate\u201d to the program. Who better than someone who has been through the program to show the members of today \u201cthe ropes\u201d? You know what 4-H did for you and how it was done. You care deeply for the children of today and the future they will make. So you ensure that 4-H will be there to help shape that future in a positive way by giving your time and energy to 4-H for the sake of the young people of your community! Thank you<\/em>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

        However, sometimes people don\u2019t volunteer until they are asked, even former 4-H\u2019ers, and we can\u2019t ask you if we don\u2019t know where you are.<\/p>\n

        Well, that makes two reasons for all the \u201calum ruckus,\u201d but I said \u201cthree.\u201d I believe there is a third one and I believe it is critical to the future of 4-H; if not more so than the others, certainly at least as much. In a word: credibility<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        You may have noticed that 4-H gets questioned a lot these days. There are a number of high-quality youth serving programs now in existence so the question is often asked, especially since 4-H receives some of its support from public sources (NIFA, USDA; state and local governments), isn\u2019t 4\u2011H just a duplication of services?<\/p>\n

        Well, anyone who has experienced 4-H knows that 4-H is not the same as any of the privately supported youth organizations. The 4-H program is an educational experience provided by each state\u2019s Land-grant University; indeed, often called \u201cyour first LGU course!\u201d<\/p>\n

        But it is the same old story. You can have all the research that is possible to have but until a person actually sees real life results, it\u2019s all just words. In the early days, Extension needed to create demonstration farms to prove the new, research-based farming methods actually worked so, likewise, 4-H needs to demonstrate that what it says about its ability to teach youth development is true, too!<\/p>\n

        And how do you do that? Well, it certainly shows in the program\u2019s products: 4-H ALUMS! In an odd way of looking at it, 4-H Alums are 4-H\u2019s demonstration farms!<\/p>\n

        4-H needs YOU to show the world what 4-H did for you so they can see what 4-H can do for the world! You give 4-H its credibility!<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \"Judy<\/a>
        Franklin County Extension\u2019s Judy Smith reviews her collection of 4-H member enrollment cards dating back to the very early days of 4-H in Franklin County.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        So we make lists of alums and seek more to add (for a national list of \u201cdistinguished\u201d 4-H alums, visit 4-H Distinguished Alumni<\/a>. Hmm. For some reason they didn\u2019t include me, I see, but it\u2019s still a good list, I guess.\u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

        We raise up and honor our alums<\/a> for the world to see and we tell our alums\u2019 stories like those of Jennifer Nettles or Facebook\u2019s Andrew Bozman or Food Channel\u2019s Anne Burrell or\u2026<\/p>\n

        And we tell YOUR stories! Some that have appeared in the 4-H Fix<\/em> already include:<\/p>\n