Arizona survey: 4-H leaves lifelong impact on lives and communities
The evaluation was conducted by the Community Research, Evaluation and Development team in the Norton School of Human Ecology.
Experiences in 4-H leave lifelong impressions that make people and communities better.
Brad Poole, Cooperative Extension
Fore more than 100 years, 4-H has helped youth across Arizona develop the heads, hearts, hands and health they need to thrive. They often go on the help our communities thrive.
For generations of young Arizonans, 4-H activities like raising livestock, cultivating farm-to-table gardens, piloting drones and stepping up to the public speaking podium have served as far more than extracurricular activities.
An evaluation conducted by the University of Arizona’s Community Research, Evaluation and Development (CRED) team shows that participation in Arizona 4-H creates powerful, intergenerational ripple effects that shape lifelong career success, civic leadership and personal resilience.
"This survey provides a strong indication that the life skills espoused as lasting impacts of 4-H programming do indeed benefit members as they choose a career, take on leadership roles and contribute to their communities in positive ways," said Todd Kesner, Cooperative Extension's associate director for 4-H Youth Development.
Alumni credited 4-H as central to their development of personal responsibility, teamwork, leadership and communication skills – all key factors to a successful adulthood, Kesner said.
The work put into things like livestock shows leaves 4-H youth better prepared to lead and serve in their communities, 4-H alumni said in a survey conducted by analysts in the University of Arizona Norton School of Human Ecology.
Brad Poole, CALES Communications
The evaluation effort began when Kesner reached out to the CRED team shortly after stepping into his role. Kesner wanted to better document and showcase the impacts of Arizona 4-H, working with CRED to capture how participation shapes alumni long after their time in the program.
The results confirmed what people often see in 4-H, said Terrace Ewinghill, a scientific analyst on the CRED team.
“Folks who have seen and worked with 4-H know it helps people feel more confident, it helps people feel like they can be leaders in their communities,” Ewinghill said.
The evaluation combined a survey reaching 187 former participants across all 15 Arizona counties and several tribal nations with interviews and focus groups using a methodology called Ripple Effects Mapping (REM). By mapping alumni journeys, the team tracked how early hands-on projects and mentorship evolve into thriving adult outcomes.
Rachel Leih and DeeDee Avery led the survey design, drawing on the national 4-H Raise Your Hand campaign and the 4-H Life Skills Wheel. Rachel Gildersleeve and CRED graduate research assistant Lauren Moxely led the qualitative analysis of REM sessions and interviews. Ewinghill coordinated the effort with 4-H and led survey analysis and summary.
Results revealed wide-reaching, long-term impacts on Arizona 4-H alumni.
Eighty-six percent of surveyed alumni reported that Arizona 4-H fostered a deep sense of personal responsibility, while 81 percent credited the program with instilling foundational character and moral values. And 80 percent attributed their adult leadership abilities directly to 4-H, with 77 percent noting that learning to overcome early project challenges prepared them to navigate adult hardships.
A central insight from the study is how early mentorship and project experiences act as developmental sparks that ignite lifelong passions. Alumni recalled how guidance from county Extension agents provided the vital scaffolding needed to step beyond their comfort zones.
Notably, 91 percent of participants reported academic and vocational success rooted in their 4-H experience, spanning careers from healthcare and chiropractic medicine to agriculture and public administration. Practical tasks like animal record-keeping, event planning and competitive public speaking translated directly into marketable workforce skills, including strategic planning, critical thinking and team communication.
Beyond individual professional achievements, alumni remain actively engaged in community service as local volunteers, club leaders and mentors. Many respondents reported enrolling their own children in Arizona 4-H, replicating these positive developmental cycles for the next generation.
Though the survey asked respondents about how 4-H impacted them, it also revealed ways 4-H builds community, Ewinghill said.
“A lot of people talked about their sense of social responsibility, their civic need to be engaged and things that helped them be better citizens, better community members, to care about their community. We asked them about how this had an impact on them as people, and then often they pointed back to the ways that 4-H helped them think about their communities," they said.
Involvement in 4-H boosted involvement in community, one respondent reported.
“I want to stay here because of how much I got to really connect with both the land and the people here, and the uniqueness that Arizona offers,” they said.
By demonstrating how early life skills compound into workforce readiness and civic dedication, the CRED report underscores the vital role Cooperative Extension plays in strengthening Arizona's rural and urban communities.