Texas 4-H Roundup awards more than $2 million in scholarships

From June 5-8, Texas A&M University in Bryan-College Station was the site of the largest gathering of 4-H members and supporters in the country.

More than 1,580 high school-level 4-H members attended the Texas 4-H Roundup, touted as the pinnacle annual event for the Texas 4-H program. About 2,000 parents, volunteers, donors and other supporters also attended.   

Roundup, hosted by Texas 4-H Youth Development, the largest youth education and development component of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, has been held almost every year since 1946.

This year, 242 scholarships were awarded to 4-H members throughout the state. As the largest 4-H scholarship program in the nation, members were awarded just over $2.7 million in scholarships at the event.

About the Texas 4-H Roundup

Texas 4-H Roundup is an annual invitational and qualifying event for 4-H senior members who placed in a district-level contest or signed up to compete in one of its invitational events.

Texas A&M AgriLife faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are involved in planning, developing and implementing the annual event.

Roundup is typically held on the Texas A&M campus and at other locations in the Bryan-College Station area, and includes diverse competitions and educational workshops compatible with the wide variety of 4-H projects.

“Roundup brings together youth from 4-H clubs throughout Texas to share in a week of fun, educational activities and camaraderie, plus it allows them the opportunity to participate in about 50 diverse competitions,” said Jana Barrett, AgriLife Extension specialist, 4-H and youth development, Bryan-College Station.

Barrett said contests held at the state level are both qualifying — requiring competing and advancing from a county and district level to state — and invitational, which are open contests for any high school 4-H member.

“No matter the contest type, all have significance and many provide the opportunity to advance to compete at a national level, representing Texas,” she said.

This year’s competitions related to agriculture and livestock, horses, STEM topics, health and wellness, food and nutrition, photography, consumer sciences, public speaking, wildlife, outdoor sports and more.  

“We held 50 contests over three days, in addition to presenting a college and career fair, interactive trade show, workshops and various educational opportunities,” Barrett said.

She said some of the most popular contests were Livestock Judging, Food Challenge, Wool Judging, Consumer Decision Making and various public speaking competitions. 

Barrett said it took the efforts of more than 550 AgriLife Extension county agents, volunteers and Texas A&M faculty to present this year’s event.

“Roundup was well attended this year, and was an exciting time for everyone,” said Callie Cline, Texas 4-H marketing and communications specialist based in College Station. “Evening assemblies brought all participants together to celebrate award winners, scholars and the Texas 4-H Council. We saw growth across the board in all contests, and we are grateful for the efforts all youth, parents, volunteers and AgriLife Extension personnel put toward making this event a reality.” 

For more information on 4-H Roundup contest winners and scholarship recipients go to https://texas4-h.tamu.edu/events/roundup/.

Defining educational and career goals 

Texas 4-H clubs are dedicated to cultivating confident, responsible kids with good character who can help tackle the issues that matter most in their communities.

“The Texas 4-H Council chose ‘Define’ as this year’s 4-H Roundup theme when thinking about what the program means to them and what it can also mean for younger 4-H’ers,” said Montza Williams, Ed.D., Texas 4-H Youth Development program director.

Texas 4-H members can define their goals, achievements, friendships and memories as they progress through every level of the program, Williams said.

“The week of Texas 4-H Roundup competitions and educational opportunities will be defining moments for our members as they push themselves to be their best and grow by expanding their boundaries,” he said.

More about Texas 4-H

4-H is the nation’s largest youth development and empowerment organization, and Texas 4-H, with more than 46,000 youth enrolled in community clubs throughout the state, boasts the largest number of active 4-H members in all 50 states.

Along with 4-H members, another 400,000 Texas youth are involved in Texas 4-H programs and activities through unique educational opportunities at schools or neighborhood and youth centers.

“These young people in Texas 4-H live in large cities, suburbs, small towns and rural communities,” Williams said. “Those who attend Texas 4-H Roundup get the opportunity to display leadership skills, their development as citizens, and their team-building and competition skills.”  

For more information about Texas 4-H, visit https://texas4-h.tamu.edu/.