4’Her Sadie Tilden: Designing Her Future
Sadie Tilden, a 16-year-old 4-H’er from Pembroke, enjoyed her experience at the 2024 National 4-H Congress. However, she quickly realized that she wanted to contribute her own ideas to the event where 15-to-18-year-olds expand their skills, engage with other
4-H members, and are inspired to make an impact on their club, community, country, and world.
So last December Sadie applied to become a member of the National 4-H Congress Design Team and learned she had been accepted to the team in January. As part of the process, she completed an application and a brief introductory video, sharing her motivation for wanting to join the team.
The seven years Sadie spent in Massachusetts 4-H helped to qualify her for this role. She is a member of not one or two, but FOUR 4-H clubs, including Hoof n’ Whiskers, A Round of A-Paws, Farmtastic 4-Hers, and Lucky for Livestock. Sadie’s 4-H projects have included showing dogs and livestock at 4-H fairs.
“I was not surprised when Sadie was chosen for the National 4-H Congress Design Team,” said Molly Vollmer, Extension Director at Plymouth County 4-H. “She is a charismatic and hardworking 4-H member. Sadie has grown in 4-H from a club member to a teen leader who participates in many project areas, with multiple animals and passion in all she does. She will be an excellent delegate from Plymouth County and Massachusetts 4-H.”
National 4-H Congress, which takes place in Atlanta, GA, at the end of November, features team building exercises; workshops such as public speaking, Pilates, yoga, and college preparation; and a community service project like mulching a dog park or cleaning a museum.
The planning process for the Design Team began in February, when Sadie traveled to Atlanta and spent two days painstakingly sifting through the Congress itinerary with the rest of the Design Team. “We planned out everything,” Sadie explained. “We got to pick the speakers.”
Following the February meetup, monthly Zoom meetings helped the team solidify the plans for National 4-H Congress. Sadie proposed having each design team member film and post a short video on social media before the conference to create excitement among attendees in the leadup to the event.
The National 4-H Congress design team includes eight 4-H’ers and twelve adults from around the country. One of those adults is Andrew Samuelson, Massachusetts 4-H’s Animal Science Specialist, who has been impressed by Sadie. “The National 4-H Congress Design Team is comprised of outstanding 4-H’ers from across the country. Sadie, through her hard work, dedication, and leadership, represents the best of Massachusetts 4-H,” said Samuelson.
Sadie and the rest of the youth design team will travel to Atlanta on November 27th, the day before Congress begins. The team will greet conference attendees at the airport and hotel. Sadie plans to circulate among participants and answer any questions. The youth who attend National 4-H Congress will also be given a bingo card to encourage them to approach design team members. “That will be really fun,” said Sadie.
Sadie enjoys participating on the 4-H design team, both to build the conference as well as network with other 4-H teens. And the extra attention doesn’t hurt, either! “We’re kind of like the celebrities that are there!” explained Sadie. “We [design team members] get to talk with each other about our different experiences. I’m most excited to see what we’ve helped build over the past year.”
