4-H Member Attends National Agri-Science Summit

First Tompkins County 4-H Member to Attend Summit

(ITHACA, NY) – Alina Loginov will be the first Tompkins County 4-H member to participate in the National 4-H Youth Summit series when she attends the 2021 Agri-Science Summit, to be held March 5th-7th online. Alina is one of twelve 4-H members in the state to receive a scholarship through the New York State 4-H Foundation to cover the $75 registration fee.

High school aged participants at the 2021 Agri-Science Summit will work together and with educators and experts in the agricultural community to acquire or strengthen their technical and leadership skills in workshop tracks focused on agricultural technology, environmental science, food security, animal science, plant science and more. Students also attend career panels and through the workshops can earn accreditations to include on college or job applications.

The daughter of Wendy Sthokal and Alexey Loginov of Lansing, NY, Alina is a homeschooled 9 ^th grade student. She has been active with Tompkins 4-H for five years and belongs to the Botany Besties and Milk Duds/Jolly Ranchers 4-H clubs. Alina is a frequent exhibitor at Tompkins County's annual 4-H Youth Fair.

Alina Loginov plans to pursue a career in research and for a current 4-H project is working on an experimental design for vertical gardening that may help increase overall productivity and reduce the amount of land needed for food production. She is excited to learn from sustainability experts at the Summit, to gain a better understanding of current environmental issues affecting farmers, and to explore different renewable gas energy processes (RNGs) to help power her greenhouse design. After attending the summit, Alina plans to share what she has learned with local 4-H clubs and others with an interest in creating and supporting more sustainable agricultural systems.

The National 4-H Council hosts several 4-H National Youth Summits each year on themes of STEM, Healthy Living, and Agri-Science. The events each bring together high school students from across the nation, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases around the world for 3 days of small group activities and workshops led by leaders and educators in their fields. In 2020 and 2021, the summits are virtual due to Covid-19 but nonetheless have attracted 500 or more 4-H members to each session. Learn more about this program at: https://4-h.org/parents/national-youth-summits/

Participation in 4-H is open to all youth aged 5 to 18. 4-H is the youth development program of the Cooperative Extension System and USDA. For information on 4-H clubs and other offerings in Tompkins County, visit http://ccetompkins.org/4H or contact Brenda Carpenter, 4-H Educator, at btc6@cornell.edu .

Last updated February 28, 2021