Growing up on a small farm in Ohio, Dulcie Christman has been around farm animals her entire life. She joined 4-H at a young age and has worked with everything from bore goats to feeder calves. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with her as she has been named the newest 4-H Instructor at the Greene County 4-H.
“I’m really excited to be here in Greene County 4-H,” Dulcie says. “The county 4-H has been able to work on their own very effectively and I want to be there to help them and be a resource for people in 4-H.”
A recent graduate of Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Dulcie went back home to look for a job. When she found the job posted on Indeed, she saw an opportunity to continue her career in 4-H while helping out the next generation of 4-H participants. While this is her first full-time job working in the program, her journey started several years earlier when a speaker came into her high school class.
“My involvement in 4-H started in high school when a speaker came in and talked to us about the program,” Dulcie says. “My mom was involved in 4-H when she was younger and, although my dad was not, he was excited about it. They said I could pick what I wanted to do and I went with dairy goats and sheep production.”
Lucky for Dulcie, she didn’t have to look very far for her first animals to work with. The Christman’s neighbors had three bore goats and Dulcie’s parents went out and purchased them. They were the first animals that she took to market and she continued participating in fairs through 2019. Along the way, she has worked with almost every animal in 4-H and had a blast along the way.
“I have worked with everything in 4-H except for rabbits and horses up until my last fair in 2019,” Dulcie says. “During my time I also held a lot of leadership positions on the fair board including being a camp counselor. I also held offices in FSA and was the historian as a sophomore and vice president as a senior. I led a busy life, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
“I feel like my background in general will help me working with Greene County 4-H,” Dulcie adds. “ I have seen it from every perspective as a participant, a camp counselor, and an FSA board member. I have a happy medium where I have done a little bit of everything and can be a resource for the county.”
Her main goal as a 4-H Instructor in Greene County is to keep kids and their parents involved in the program. She wants to reach out to the parents so they can continue encouraging and helping their kids along the way.
“Its one thing to have 4-H leaders press the importance of 4-H, but it’s another to have your parents press it,” Dulcie explains. “My main goal is getting and keeping kids involved in 4-H and I plan to do that not only by helping the kids but the parents as well.”
FMI about 4-H, visit www.extension.psu.edu.
