SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – To help 4-H expand its reach from under six to 10 million youth across the United States and territories, National 4-H launched its Beyond Ready Initiative earlier in 2025. Beyond Ready aims not only to expand the reach of 4-H but also to set up students for success in their futures, according to Illinois 4-H Youth Leadership Team member Alex Paul, who was representing the organization during Agriculture Day at the 2025 Illinois State Fair in Springfield.

“Beyond Ready is essentially our college and career readiness initiative, and it strives to show that 4-H is making our youth Beyond Ready for the future,” said Paul, who hails from tiny Cisne in Wayne County, roughly 2.5 hours south of the Springfield fairgrounds. “4-H is making us more prepared for college, more prepared for a career in both the soft and the hard skills (including) leadership and public speaking.  Ultimately, our goal is to make our youth into productive citizens, so that as we move into the future we have (developed) a next generation of leaders and public figures, legislators and community activists.”

Paul noted that 4-H can serve almost any interest students may have, including everything from graphic design, welding, and woodworking to showing livestock competitively. “Even if you want to play e-sports or build robots, 4-H has an area for that and for you. You can learn about what you’re already interested in, as well as grow in the skills that are going to help you make that a career or a future for you,” he said.

The mission of 4-H’s Beyond Ready initiative is described as:

- Equipping youth with leadership, critical thinking, and adaptability skills.

- Encouraging development through health, engagement, productivity and community involvement.

- Bridging the gap between education and real-world application to ensure career and personal success.

4-H, sponsored in Illinois by the University of Illinois Extension, is offered to youth ages 8-18, while their introductory Cloverbud program is open to kids ages 5-8. Members have the option to attend and participate in state and national conferences, much like their FFA counterparts, according to Paul, who served on the 2025 National 4-H Youth Leadership Team in addition to the Illinois team. As part of his national-level duties, Paul helped organize the 2025 4-H National Premier Civic Engagement Conference (NPCEC), which serves to gather 4-Hers from across the country in Washington, D.C., to tour significant government buildings such as USDA headquarters, the Pentagon and congressional offices.

“Twenty-two different federal partners were visited by 4-Hers who were there to help them solve the issues of today, because the 4-Hers are the leaders of both today and tomorrow,” Paul said of the NPCEC. “In addition, we offer National 4-H Congress, the Ignite Conference and a lot of other state and national opportunities.”

Paul was among a contingent of state 4-H student officers and leaders who converged on the state fair to honor the 2025 Illinois 4-H Family Spirit Award winner. The award, bestowed on an Illinois family that has benefited and continues to advocate for 4-H over multiple generations, went to the Wendel Riggins family, of McDonough County. 

The family’s commitment to 4-H spans four generations and 17 family members enrolled in the organization. This encompasses 145 years of membership and counting, 20 years of club leaders and 55 years of both volunteerism and showing animals at the Illinois State Fair. The family was honored both on the Governor’s Lawn during the state fair’s Ag Breakfast and later during a 4-H award ceremony in the Orr Building on the fairgrounds.

Present in all 102 Illinois counties, 4-H is easily accessible to youth through their closest county Extension office. More information about joining or forming a 4-H chapter can be found on the Extension 4-H website, as can more info on the Beyond Ready initiative. 

As part of the initiative, 4-H members are encouraged to share how 4-H has helped to make them Beyond Ready by logging into go.illinois.edu/BeyondReadyStory.