Photo courtesy of Murray County 4-H: Murray County 4-H member and Marshall High School sophomore Roman Gaul (back left) was one of 23 Minnesota 4-H students to attend the National 4-H Ignite Conference in Washington, D.C. at the end of March.

SLAYTON — A Murray County 4-H member and Marshall High School sophomore student got the opportunity to attend a national conference at the country’s capital recently. Roman Gaul was one of 23 Minnesota 4-H students selected to join around 1,800 other members from across the country to participate at the Ignite Conference in Washington, D.C.

Hosted by the National 4-H, this was the first year of the Ignite Conference, where students attended a variety of workshops and got to hear from inspiring speakers and national leaders. The conference took place March 25 through March 29.

“It was really cool (having a Murray County member selected). Back history, the conference was originally called CWF, the Citizenship Washington Focus,” Mallory Vos of the Murray County and University of Minnesota 4-H Extension said. “They rebranded it … We have been fortunate to have other students in the past go, so it’s really nice.”

According to the National 4-H, the transition from the CWF Conference to Ignite was to create a more “premier experience” for students to get exposure and discover potential career sparks, while also deepening leadership skills and meet fellow 4-H peers from across their home state and the country.

“He (Gaul) was able to learn from them (former Murray County members that attended CWF), and see their insights, and what they thought they learned … It’s super cool,” Vos added.

Throughout the duration of the conference, students had the opportunity to participate in hands-on workshops, network and visit some historic sites in D.C. Students were also encouraged to develop plans that could strengthen their home communities.

Conference subjects and workshops included topics in agricultural science, animal science, community accelerators, healthy living and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

As the conference was an exclusive opportunity for students, 4-H members had to be selected to join the experience.

“They (4-H members) actually had to apply. That includes like a paper application (or) like a digital document that you submit,” Vos said of the application process. “They also have to do (something) like a video, more-so introducing themselves, why they feel qualified, what kind of positive experience they feel they could gain from attending.”

According to Murray County 4-H, Part of the students’ experience at Ignite included visiting Capitol Hill, touring the United States Capitol, the National Mall, Washington Monument, the Smithsonian museums and also getting to visit the National 4-H Council Headquarters.

The entire Minnesota delegation of 4-H members also got the opportunity to visit Arlington National Cemetery, and got to see the Changing of the Guard.

In addition to visiting the various sites, members went on to hear presentations on leadership and personal growth. On the final day of the conference, students participated in project work where they collaborated to come up with creative and impactful community-action ideas.

As the National 4-H plans to continue hosting an annual conference for members across the country, students will continue to have the opportunity to connect and collaborate with peers while gaining professional career exposure.