COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State University senior Danielle Coleman learned about 4-H just by chance.

“I joined in third grade, when someone from 4-H came to our school and talked about it,” she said. “I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. My mom was in 4-H when she was growing up, and so were a bunch of other family members, so I got involved and was a member for 10 years.”

Coleman, who is majoring in animal science at OSU, grew up near Tiffin in rural Seneca County. Although her uncles are in agriculture, her immediate family isn’t. “I wanted to take a cow project, but my parents wouldn’t let me because we didn’t have a farm,” she said, “so I settled on rabbits, and really developed a love for them. I showed rabbits all 10 years I was in 4-H.”

Now she is president of the Collegiate 4-H at her university. “I’ve always loved 4-H and the sense of community that it creates,” Coleman said. “You get to know a bunch of people who have similar interests. Coming down here to Ohio State, I knew I wanted to stay involved somehow.”

In 2014, more than 216,000 young Ohioans participated in traditional 4-H clubs, camps and school enrichment programs, and in other extension youth groups and educational activities. Once at the college level, 4-H focuses on service and outreach rather than animal involvement. But participation in college drops drastically. “Collegiate 4-H has been relatively unknown, but it’s been around for about 20 years,” said Cheryl Buck, OSU’s Collegiate 4-H advisor. “One will find Collegiate 4-H at Wisconsin, Kansas, Penn State, Ball State, Cornell, Texas A&M, Wilmington College in Ohio and some other universities and colleges.”

The first Collegiate 4-H Club was formed at Oklahoma State University in 1916. “There are 800 clubs here at Ohio State, and Collegiate 4-H is just one of them. Usually members are students who are 4-H alumni and want to continue a connection to 4-H, but any interested students are welcome,” Buck said.

“Clubs normally provide service and support to their local and state 4-H programs, such as serving as judges and conducting training workshops. They are also a service and social group for campus students.”

The Collegiate 4-H group at OSU sponsors “Carving New Ideas,” a team-building camp for younger 4-H leaders, and hosts “Plowboy Prom,” a square dance after the annual Ohio 4-H leadership conference in Columbus each year. OSU’s members (there are just 40) have also been involved in Habitat for Humanity, 4-H counselor training and the university’s BuckeyeThon, a dance marathon that raises funds for the Children’s Miracle Network and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Most recently the Columbus-based group is assisting with 4-H Science Saturdays, a science-based program for fifth-graders. “Collegiate 4-H offers so many opportunities with projects to get involved in,” Coleman said. “It’s a lot of fun. You develop leadership skills, life skills, responsibility and it instills good values. And it’s a great way to meet new people. You create some lifelong friends.”

For more details about OSU’s Collegiate 4-H program, email Coleman at coleman. 611@buckeyemail.osu.edu or Buck at buck.19@extadmin.cfaes.ohio-state.edu