When my grandfather was diagnosed with brain cancer, I witnessed how the absence of clear medical communication made my family confused and even pessimistic. This experience has given me a passion for education, which has brought me to explore this as the Youth Education Co-Leader. This summer, I have been able to grow in my ability to educate youth visitors at the Gardens.

This summer, we hosted middle school students who were coming to Cornell through 4-H Career Explorations to learn about different careers. I decided to have an activity with dichotomous keys with real-world practice in the gardens. However, when running through my activity with some peers, it was hard to follow, and I had little faith in it as the program got closer.

On the day of our program, there was a heat warning, causing my activity to be mostly indoors. As a result, my activity was cut short, and I had to make up for the extra time. I was already nervous about my activity, so I was unsure of how to keep them engaged. On a whim, I just started talking to them to get to know them better. In the end, I talked to each group about their career interests, icebreakers, and entering high school. When each group was about to leave, I was happily surprised to hear that many of the students really enjoyed my activity. I highlight this experience because I learned how education starts with genuine connection and relationships with others.