Abbey Schoumaker, from Pope County, attended the annual 4- H Youth Exploring Leadership and Learning Opportunities (YELLO) conference.

In June, youth from across Minnesota gathered in Bemidji, Minn. for the annual 4- H Youth Exploring Leadership and Learning Opportunities (YELLO) conference. All five regions came from across Minnesota to be a part of YELLO. The conference was facilitated by youth leaders from the Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador program and supported by a team of adult chaperones. 

This year’s workshop theme was “Your Destination Awaits,” which taught young people how to choose a destination and develop goals to help them reach that destination. The youth engaged in small group activities so that they could meet others from across Minnesota, educational workshops and large group activities. They also learned about food insecurity and did a hunger simulation to learn more about it and how they could help their communities.

YELLO focuses on youth from middle school to one year past high school. It helps youth hone their skills as leaders and take a deeper look into their leadership journeys. 

Using a youth teaching youth model, the 4-H YELLO leadership workshops are developed and led by 4-H State Ambassadors and Minnesota 4-H youth who have been selected to serve as spokespeople for 4-H. Their purpose is to educate youth and adults about the importance of youth development, leadership, citizenship, service, teamwork and other invaluable life skills.