Position: Bergen County 4-H Program Associate
Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station

Length of service: Since June 2006

Residence: Vernon

What she does  Assisted by three part-time staff and 15 volunteers, Pellien oversees the 4-H Youth Development Programs in Bergen County, including nine youth clubs and 12 after-school programs. 4-H programs are offered through Cooperative Extension, a unit of Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, which has offices in all 21 counties in New Jersey. Pellien’s work is varied and hands-on. On a Monday afternoon in early November, for example, she guided a group of Englewood elementary schoolers through an exercise in building a small-scale rollercoaster. On another recent morning she took another group – this one made up of high school students in Englewood – to a local IHOP for a practical lesson in how “portion distortion” can lead to overeating. The field trip was Pellien’s unique spin on Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s “Get Moving, Get Healthy New Jersey” curriculum.

4-H and Rutgers  4-H (Head, Heart, Hands, and Health) grew out of a variety of rural youth education programs – including “Corn Clubs” for boys and “Canning Clubs” for girls – in early 20th-century America. Educators saw the clubs as a way to encourage farm families to adopt new technologies. In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act established the Cooperative Extension Service to support programs in agriculture and food, home and family, the environment, community economic development, and youth development at land-grant universities such as Rutgers. Nationally and in New Jersey, 4-H programs found a hospitable home in the extension service system. 4-H has long since broadened its agrarian focus to reach young people in suburban and urban communities.

A different approach  The 1,500 Bergen County 4-H participants – there were 50,000 statewide in 2007 – represent a 400 percent increase since 2006. Pellien attributes the rise to after-school programs instituted in some counties during the past few years. Made up primarily of urban school students, the after-school programs stress public service and personal development, virtues long associated with 4-H. But where traditional 4-H clubs typically meet once a month at night or on weekends, the after-school groups are designed to ease the burden of transportation and time commitment for working parents. In addition, while 4-H clubs historically have been staffed by unpaid volunteers, the after-school programs are run by paid staffers.

Similar benefits  “Volunteer-led 4-H clubs are the most difficult to establish and maintain,” Pellien says. “The after-school setting attracts young people who might otherwise find the notion of joining 4-H a bit, say, old-fashioned.” It gives them a chance to get training in life skills, such as leadership and public speaking, as well as opportunities to participate in public service projects associated with traditional clubs. Another plus: These programs frequently attract partnerships with other organizations – such as the Englewood Coalition for Adolescent Health, which helps underwrite “Get Healthy, Get Moving.”

No cows or chickens – but a few dogs and cats  4-H has rural roots, but the philosophy can work in many environments. In Bergen County, after-school programs focus on subjects such as engineering, citizenship, and nutrition. Fourth- and fifth-graders established a community garden at their school in Lodi; older youngsters have helped train dogs and cats employed in “pet therapy” programs at nursing homes and hospitals.

Year-round benefits  Pellien notes that students active in extracurricular pursuits may be less likely to suffer from what recent research has labeled “summer learning loss.” Meanwhile, public interest in extending the school day is likely to increase the demand for curriculum-based, after-school programs such as those offered by 4-H. After-school participants, however, do miss out on some of the county, state, and national 4-H events. “The only way to get some of these benefits is to merge the after-school programs with traditional clubs,” Pellien says. “My next challenge is to figure out a way to do that.”

Her own schooling  Pellien became a 4-H program associate after stints at the Boys & Girls Club of Hawthorne, where she was teen director, and the recreation department in Alexandria, Virginia, where she was a supervisor. She earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and sports management from Rutgers–New Brunswick, and is in her first semester of graduate school in liberal studies on the Newark Campus. Her ultimate goal is to become a Rutgers faculty member, overseeing 4-H programs.

Why she does what she does  Pellien enjoys the creative aspects of her work. “I like problem-solving and coming up with new ideas. I like the fact that I’m part of something greater than me.” It’s rewarding, she says, to see young people making changes and accepting responsibilities. “These kids are so jazzed to be a part of this.”