Career sparks come from people, experiences, and programs, including UConn 4-H. For Tahlia Watson of Bloomfield, Connecticut, that spark was joining 4-H and participating in animal projects, leadership, and civic engagement programs.

“I always liked animals and have a lot of pets, but never thought of it as a career until I joined UConn 4-H and saw everything else that’s possible besides just being a veterinarian or working with therapy animals. I thought animals were just a hobby before 4-H.”

The rising senior at Northwest Catholic High School is applying to the animal science program in UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. But she’s not declaring as a pre-veterinarian major right away. Instead, Watson plans to earn her degree and then explore various animal science career paths before selecting one.

Watson is a member of the Merry Moo-ers 4-H Club, based in Enfield, as well as UConn 4-H Hartford County. She started 4-H six years ago after visiting the 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm in Bloomfield with her preschool class. Watson and her mom returned for visits and volunteered before joining their 4-H club.

The pandemic was a challenging time for everyone, but UConn 4-H found a way to adapt despite the situation. Even with limited programs in 2021, Watson showed one of the beef cattle at the 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm. She was inspired by how her 4-H leaders and advisors adapted to the remote environment and still accomplished so much for the youth. She wanted to become more involved in UConn 4-H.

“The most challenging part of 4-H is the first time you work with a project after animal assignments,” Watson says. “My first year, my calf was the easiest to work with and the second year, my calf was more challenging. I learned to adapt with what I was given. It’s also the most rewarding part of being in 4-H.”

Watson switched from beef to dairy cattle, started competing in public speaking, and joined the Hartford County 4-H Fair Association, the group of youth leaders that plan the annual 4-H fair held the third weekend in August at the Four Town Fairgrounds in Somers. Youth are responsible for all aspects of the fair, from the program to securing over 60 volunteer evaluators for 4-H projects at the fair.

As vice president of livestock this year, Watson’s responsibilities include facilitating and managing all livestock activities for the fair. Watson previously served as chair of the program and publicity committee and corresponding secretary. She enjoys working with the youth fair association, including those older and younger than herself, making friends, and seeing how it all comes together. Although there’s a lot of responsibility involved, Watson says planning accordingly keeps it manageable. The 4-H program hopes that these vital interpersonal and project management skills serve 4-H members throughout their lives.

Jen Cushman, UConn 4-H state program leader and Hartford County 4-H educator shared that, “Tahlia’s journey exemplifies how UConn 4-H provides youth with the opportunity to engage in various programs, identify areas of interest, and develop skills which prepare youth for workforce readiness.”

This past year, Watson was selected to serve on the Northeast States Urban 4-H Teen Council. This leadership opportunity included youth from four states and the District of Columbia and empowered them to positively impact in their communities. Each youth selected a community service project that they conducted. They then presented the results to the cohort. Watson created care kit packages for the House of Bread, a non-profit in Hartford, and presented her work in June. She plans to continue volunteering with House of Bread and is working with their leadership team to identify areas where she can be impactful in the coming year.

“Because 4-H is youth led we have more responsibility that I don’t get in school,” Watson says. “I was running my community service project with the House of Bread, and I had to learn how to do things for myself and understand what it’s like to be in charge in a professional setting.”

UConn 4-H continues sparking opportunities for Watson. She is representing Connecticut at the National 4-H Dairy Conference in Madison, Wisconsin this fall, and is an applicant for the UConn 4-H Teen Council. Watson represented UConn 4-H at Ag Day at the Capitol and attended UConn 4-H’s Citizenship Day at the Capitol this past April, an event organized by the Teen Council.

“Seeing what they did and really enjoying it inspired me, and I want to make it so other youth can enjoy UConn 4-H programs too,” Watson says.

This year’s Citizenship Day was made more special because the UConn men’s basketball team was also at the Capitol, and Watson met Donovan Clingan, UConn President Radenka Maric, and Governor Ned Lamont.

But there’s work to be done before these next adventures. Watson is participating in 4-H Fair Work Week, setting up pens, cleaning the grounds, and preparing for the fair. During the fair, she’ll be interviewed by the selection committee for the 4-H dairy program at the Big E Fair in September. While each of these may present challenges, one thing is certain, Tahlia Watson will adapt and succeed.

The Hartford County 4-H Fair is August 16-18 at the Four Town Fairgrounds in Somers. Visit s.uconn.edu/4-H for information on all the 4-H fairs and to become involved with the program.

4-H is a community of over six million young people across the United States who are learning science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); leadership; civic engagement; and life skills through their 4-H project work. UConn 4-H is part of Extension in the College of Agriculture, Heath and Natural Resources. 4-H provides youth with the opportunity to develop lifelong skills including civic engagement and healthy living.