Dickson County 4-H’er and past 4-H State Council member Katie Collins is the first Tennessee 4-H’er to win the national 4-H Youth in Action Award. Collins has been active within 4-H since fourth grade. Her love for agriculture began on her family’s dairy in Dickson. She remained active into high school and wanted to share that passion with young people in the area, so she created the “See Yourself in Agriculture” program. Through her project, she mentored local middle school 4-H’ers interested in agriculture by bringing them to local farms and agriculture businesses.
Photo credit: Misty Wong
“I wanted to help young people connect farms and their food, and we did that by bringing them directly to farms and businesses,” Collins says. “It was rewarding to hear the participants say they learned about agriculture and found new opportunities for their careers.”
Collins’ “See Yourself in Agriculture” project was submitted and competed for the 4-H Youth in Action Award with other outstanding service projects from across the country.
She was selected as one of the four winners of the most prestigious 4-H award and will receive a $5,000 scholarship.
Currently, Collins a sophomore at the University of Tennessee studying food and agriculture business in hopes of pursuing agriculture law.