Beyond ready: Callan Nix on the power of Texas 4-H
During National 4-H Week, Texas 4-H Council president reflects on how the organization prepares youth to lead and serve
Three years ago, Callan Nix was satisfied to simply “go through the 4-H motions” in her steer barn. Today, she serves more than half a million Texas 4-H youth as the 2025-2026 Texas 4-H Council president. Her story is proof that 4-H doesn’t just teach skills; it builds leaders who are beyond ready for life.
“I really do think 4-H just gives their members an advantage over the rest of the world,” Nix said. “Anyone in 4-H, whether you’re in livestock, robotics or leadership, you’re learning valuable life lessons that will shape your future.”
Her story is one of thousands celebrated during National 4-H Week, Oct. 5-11, when the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service joins the national “Beyond Ready” movement to honor the impact of youth who are beyond ready — prepared for college, trades, careers, and community leadership because of their involvement with 4-H.
Programs that shape purpose
Through programs like the Texas 4-H Youth Livestock Ambassadors and the Global Leadership Opportunities Beyond Education, GLOBE, program, Nix discovered her passion for agriculture policy and media in addition to a sense of greater purpose she plans to carry into her studies at Texas A&M University.
“4-H showed me who I could be and made me beyond ready for that next stage of life,” she said. “I will be ready to tackle whatever comes next with great force and hopefully make an impact.”
A new home for the next generation of leaders
Texas 4-H is the state’s largest youth development program and is part of AgriLife Extension and The Texas A&M University System. Texas 4-H offers programs in all 254 counties and served nearly 520,000 youth ages 8-18 last year.
As AgriLife Extension prepares to open its new Texas 4-H Youth Development headquarters on the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus in 2026, it hopes to make that a home where youth and adults alike can come together to collaborate, learn and extend the range of 4-H, developing youth into citizens who are “beyond ready” for life.
“Every youth within 4-H is first presented with the opportunity to better themselves at the local level,” Nix said. “Then, you can choose to stay within your county, or you can stretch beyond that and reach into the district, state and national level through various programs in Texas 4-H.”
“However, without funding, we can’t reach as many youth or give them the same experiences that changed my life,” she said. “When you support Texas 4-H programs, you’re helping build leaders who will make an impact. Having these opportunities for 4-H members really allows us to take our leadership to the next level and prepare ourselves for the real world.”
To learn more about how to support Texas 4-H as it continues to grow and invest in the future of Texas youth, contact Natalee Kovar, assistant director of development at the Texas A&M Foundation, at [email protected]
