Salem teen displays 4-H leadership, square dancing skills at Pennsylvania Farm Show

Pennsylvania’s 4-H program has broadened Olivia Jumper’s horizons throughout her childhood.

Now, as president of the 4-H State Council, the Salem teen is dedicated to making others aware of the program’s benefits. That included delivering a speech during last weekend’s opening of the Pennsylvania Farm Show.

“I talked about how 4-H offers more than just farming projects and how that can apply to the farm show also,” Jumper said. “The council is the highest thing you can achieve in the state 4-H. It’s been really awesome to represent 4-H on that level.”

Having grown up in a nonfarming family, Jumper came to appreciate firsthand the diversity of 4-H offerings. Since she and her three siblings were all home-schooled, their parents pointed them toward 4-H as a hands-on educational experience.

Jumper joined the 4-H Cloverbud program at age 5. Through 4-H, she has advanced her skills in a range of pursuits, including sewing, baking, photography and artwork.

She has developed her public speaking and leadership skills and became the owner of a trio of equines, now about 12 years old — a gelding Appaloosa she has ridden competitively and two miniature horses she has shown. She has promoted 4-H horse programs as a member of the organization’s Team Horse Power.

She earned a first-place award at the district level and eighth in state competition with her miniature mare. She also has competed at the state level on her Appaloosa, after placing at districts in the cutback class. “It’s a pattern of going around poles,” she said.

Jumper finished first in a state speaking competition although her assigned topic dealt with the construction field, which isn’t where her interests lie.

“The topic was job readiness, for a theoretical kind of job,” she explained. “We had to do a resume and a job application and talk about why we were qualified for the job.”

Jumper wants to be an English teacher and is well on her way to that goal. At 18, she is a senior at Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, working toward her teaching degree.

She said her experiences and the many people she has met through 4-H have prepared her to guide future generations.

She said 4-H “has allowed me to appreciate people of all backgrounds. There’s no reason to discriminate.”

At the same time, 4-H leadership programs “helped me to understand I definitely have a passion for teaching,” she said.

One of Jumper’s most enjoyable 4-H experiences was taking part in a cultural exchange program. She spent time with 4-H families in two other states while her family hosted visiting 4-H’ers in return.

“I’ve learned a lot about agriculture and how important it is,” she said. She spent time on a beef cattle farm in Minnesota and learned about the wheat crops that are produced in Colorado.

Jumper also has enjoyed competitive square dancing, including Monday’s event at the farm show. Her family fields its own team, dubbed the Blue Flame.

“Every year, we’ve gotten a blue ribbon,” she said. That includes this year.

Jumper noted her years of showing horses likely are behind her, and she will soon end her term as the state council president and age out of the 4-H program as a youth.

But, after a gap year has passed, she said, “I will certainly be going back as a 4-H leader.”