Middle school is hard, need I say more? The years spent in middle school can be a tumultuous stage of life for young people and those who love and support them. Tweens’ brains begin to undergo massive structural and functional changes in middle school…just as toddlers need to learn how to walk on wobbly legs, tweens need to learn how to think with fresh brains (Icard, 2014). As youth development professionals working with the young people who are navigating new brains, we can utilize this time to cultivate strong individuals for life after this fleeting stage of life. This session focuses on providing research and ways to apply that research to foster learning opportunities in a developmentally appropriate environment for the "middle ages." Focusing on positively navigating the middle will reduce stress for adults and maximize learning outcomes for youth. This phase is only a short period of time during the lifespan, but skills developed during this stage can yield valuable long-term benefits. 

The best way to become a good public speaker is to practice, practice, practice. The best way to become an excellent public speaker is confidence, knowledge, and passion. In this hands-on, active workshop you will not only get to participate confidence boosting ice breakers, but you will also learn how to effectively give a blue-ribbon presentation. 

How does the Extension professional effectively work with stakeholders and earn trust in the community while trying to produce effective results? Program partners are an invaluable resource in creating and strengthening quality 4-H programming. Done properly, partners find mutually beneficial strengths, resulting in growing and thriving partnerships. This webinar focuses on strengthening current program partners, identifying and making new connections, and increasing community relationships. Using examples from their own programming at county and state levels, the presenters will share their successes in working with community partners to create impactful programs. Participants will have the opportunity to evaluate their own partnership needs, engage in conversations around how to approach their situation with an open frame of mind, and use strategies and ideas gained in the session to help them replicate success in their own communities to shape future work. 

This session will equip 4-H educators with the tools and knowledge necessary to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment within their counties and start the process of refining and reinvigorating their programs after a time of disruption (pandemic, evolving political landscape, rapidly changing university policies, broken partnerships, etc). Presenters will share practical strategies that they learned and used in their own experience as well as peer-reviewed resources for designing unique survey questions and protocols and evaluating and utilizing data. 

Employee burnout is a growing challenge in today’s fast-paced work environment, leading to decreased productivity, low morale, and high turnover rates. This workshop is designed to help employees and leaders identify the signs of burnout, understand its root causes, and implement effective strategies to foster well-being and resilience. Burnout is a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, excessive workload, and insufficient recovery time. First introduced by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in the 1970s, burnout has since been widely studied across various professions, including Cooperative Extension roles, healthcare, education, and corporate settings. Burnout is a significant concern in the Cooperative Extension system, as professionals often work long hours, manage extensive community outreach programs, and face the challenge of securing funding and grants.