Member Spotlights

Rachel, San Diego County

Rachel, Valley Center 4-H Club, San Diego County

4-H member, Oberhasli goat breeder, foreign-language tutor, and Miss Teenage California finalist… Rachel is a valued member of her community and the 4-H program. Her ‘career’ as a 4-H member started when she was in 2nd grade at her local school. Today, Rachel looks back on her nine-year involvement in 4-H with fondness and pride.

“I hope that I can impart some of what I have gained to the younger members of my group, so that they too can learn to be their best selves and take advantage of the opportunities available to them through the 4H program. I’ve come a long way from the girl who couldn’t see over her goat, and I’m excited about what the future holds,” Rachel says.

While Rachel began her 4-H career with the arts and crafts project, she soon moved onto dairy goats, a passion that has stayed with her over the years. She and her brothers bred and showed Oberhasli goats, and after five years of dedication (and “delivering more kids in the night than I can count...”) one of their does won best of show at the Orange Show. Since then, Rachel has continued to branch out in the swine and presentation projects.

She especially enjoyed the foreign exchange project, learning French and Spanish through college courses. She has since used her language skills to teach "Spanish and English As a Foreign Language" classes to adult students at her community’s night school. She learned from the experience, noting that “Although I have been teaching, I feel like I have learned so much more. These students may not be 'educated' in academics, but they are wise in the ways of the world. I received lots of good advice about project animals, cooking and many other topics. I learned about the difficulties people around the world face, and how motivation can make up for a lack of opportunity.”

Today, Rachel is still just as involved and happy in her 4-H community as ever and is making plans for the future. “ As I look forward to my final year in 4H, I still have goals that I want to achieve. I will earn my crystal star this year, and I would like to help the service group organize in such a way that it will be able to continue on after I leave for college.”

Author: Emily Lane, State 4-H Office Student Assistant, erlane@ucdavis.edu