By SYDNEY KENT
Three days passed between Anya Aulbach graduation from Purdue University and her first day as the new 4-H youth yevelopment educator for Wells County. Before then, she spent 10 years as a dedicated student.
“It was kind of my whole life,” Aulbach reminisced. “I wanted to stay in the industry after no longer being able to show, to find a way to fit into that as a profession. This position is a great way to do that.”
After an influential internship at the state 4-H office, Aulbach pursued her bachelor of science in agriculture communication at Purdue University. She began as the local educator in mid-May.
In addition to showing pigs all 10 years of her 4-H career in Blackford County, Aulbach participated in programs like home environment, food, and sewing. She showed pigs at the county and state fairs, shows throughout the state, and even participated in several national shows. Aulbach was crowned Queen of the Blackford 4-H and Open Fair in 2018.
These four 4-H pillars — head, heart, hands and health — have been foundational supports in Aulbach’s life growing up with a younger brother and two parents who are also proud 10-year participants.
“Growing up, my dad had a small row crop operation,” Aulbach said. “I was certainly familiar with the farm life and visiting my dad in the fields. We would spend our time out in the barn and that was when we got to be together as a family. This is my brother’s last year showing this year, I don’t know how my family is going to cope.”
Only days away from the 4-H fair, Aulbach said she is excited to observe and learn from a group of dedicated leaders and volunteers.
“There has been some turnover in my position in recent years,” Aulbach explained. “I’ve been very fortunate in that we have a lot of great volunteers who have stepped up in that time. They truly have things rocking and rolling — this will be a great learning experience for me. Hopefully, there won’t be any fires to put out, but if that happens, I’ll be there for those decisions and to help wherever I’m needed.”
Beyond the excitement of the 4-H fair, which occurs from July 15-21, Aulbach is looking forward to stepping into the role. Aulbach said she has big shoes to fill. She paid tribute to Roger Sherer, the former extension educator, and the impactful work he performed over his four decades with Purdue extension. She is excited and grateful to build on this work.
“Everyone knows the 4-H fair, but there is so much more to it than that,” Aulbach began. “I will work on programming and workshops year-round. I want to focus on building the mini 4-H program. I’d love to help instill a good foundation of 4-H in young kids’ lives.”
Aulbach is also in charge of the Junior Leader program, where kids are encouraged to go above and beyond in community involvement and philanthropic services. Aulbach hopes to encourage more personal and leadership development in the program. She also hopes to facilitate workshops for kids involving music education, kayaking, and cooking classes where kids can learn about different countries and cultures.
“I’ve got a lot of ideas,” She said. “4-H is a family-oriented organization, and this community is a family. Wells County, I’ve come to learn, is a very supportive and welcoming community. Volunteers for programming are always needed, a lot of kids involved in projects would love to see workshops on how to move forward with their projects.”
The Wells County Purdue Extension director, William Horan, said he was impressed by Aulbach’s knowledge when he worked with her at the Indiana State Fair 4-H cattle show in 2022.
“That gave us a lot of comfort knowing that she was already familiar with the 4-H livestock projects,” Horan said. “The fact that she grew up in a nearby community also helped us feel comfortable offering Anya the position here because we felt like she already knew the neighborhood and could easily get along with the families and lifestyle of Wells County.”
Those with an interest in volunteering for a program, hosting a workshop, or enrolling their child in 4-H may contact Aulbach by email at aaulbach@purdue.edu.
sydney@news-banner.com
