Wisconsin 4-H-er Emily Groth had no choice but to think on her feet. Just 30 minutes before the U.S. secretary of agriculture was scheduled to address youth delegates from across the country in Washington D.C., the appearance was canceled. 

“Because the government is in constant fluctuation, there were so many last-minute changes,” says Emily, one of six youth from across the country chosen for the 2025 4-H National Conference Planning Committee in early June. “Then you have to communicate that with the delegation. It’s a very busy couple of days of a lot of thinking and adapting very quickly.” Emily, a high school senior and president of the Lost Dauphin 4-H Club in Rock County, knew she was up to the task when she attended her first National 4-H Conference a year before. 

“I got to see these people my age talking up on stage and leading the group. Every time I attend something like this, I always want to be in front and leading people. When I saw that the conference gives you an opportunity to do that, I was so excited,” she says 

The National 4-H Conference helps develop the next generation of leaders. During the conference, delegates learn about the government and career opportunities. They also share their voices with federal agencies and congressional committees. Before the conference, Planning Committe members like Emily decided on a theme for the event and wrote scripts for announcements, introductions and group activities. 

“We were helping figure out the chaos that is a bunch of kids arriving on a bus and not knowing what to do,” says Emily. Her team also shelped with the youth career expo at the conference.  

“It translates into a lot of useful life skills along the way: management and the ability to communicate and to adapt to thinking on your feet. There are endless applications of the skills that you learn when you’re leading such a big group,” she says. 

Emily grew up in La Crosse’s Barre Badgers 4-H Club and joined the county ambassadors program and leaders association in junior high. She continued with the leaders association for the first two years of high school before transferring to the Rock County Lost Dauphin 4-H Club her junior year. She’s currently the president of the club and is finishing her fourth and final year as a member of the Wisconsin 4-H Leadership program. 

Emily says she’ll use the interpersonal and communication skills she learned at the National 4-H Conference as she working towards a teaching degree in the fall.  

“[The conference] was definitely a great application of skills for me. I’m leading my peers, and I’m leading people that are older than me in some cases. That ability to clearly articulate your thoughts, to be able to tell them what the plan is and being able to execute that plan yourself — it helps.” 

She also made friends and memories at the National 4-H Conference that will last a lifetime.  

“My favorite part was definitely how fast my team — and the delegates too — became this huge 4-H family,” Emily says. “We had seen each other six to eight times on a Zoom meeting, but then I walk out of the airport terminal and they’re giving me hugs and saying, ‘Welcome.’ It was an amazing experience to have with a group of people.” 

Emily encourages 4-H members to attend the National 4-H Conference as a delegate, which is a requirement to apply for the planning committee.  

“The National 4-H Conference is the epitome of opportunities outside of your club or your state — you’re not really going to attend anything better than this. You’re meeting people who could help you create a big future for yourself. I was shaking hands with the people in charge of 4-H and the undersecretary of U.S. education department.  I was meeting people who impact us every day in ways we don’t even realize. And I was learning from them. Now they know my name, and that opened up so many opportunities.”