HAT Helping Future Communicators
For the past 12 years, Hoosier Ag Today has awarded a 4-H Foundation Communications scholarship. This year’s winner is from Northern Indiana. Ashlyn Rody from Wabash County was one of 42 young people receiving scholarships at the Indiana 4-H Foundation Scholarship Luncheon. The Junior at Wabash High School said communication is vital to her future.
“When you walk into a job interview, you can’t sit there and text them or FaceTime them. You have to know how to communicate with someone person-to-person.”
A 9 year 4-H member, Rody said her 4-H experience has taught her to be an effective communicator, “For example, I am a Junior Leader representative on our 4-H council; so I have had to sit in a room full of adults and effectively communicate and get my point across.”
Biotechnology is one or Rody’s interests and is an area where she said effective communication is necessary.
“If you cannot communicate that these new technologies are safe and will make our world better, then the community will stay fearful. In every area of science, you need good communication.” She plans to pursue a career in ecological and environmental engineering.
Rody has been a leader in her community as a 4-H shooting sports youth instructor and a county and regional camp counselor. She holds leadership positions in several 4-H clubs. In 2017, she was one of five youth in Wabash County who taught over 1000 youth and adults in the Teen Teaching program. She has also won honors with her rabbits and dairy goats.
Hoosier Ag Today is proud to provide funding for this scholarship program, believing that communication skills are needed by the next generation of agricultural leaders and rural residents. The scholarship was presented during the Indiana 4H Foundation Scholarship Luncheon on Saturday, November 10.