| Dates at a Glance Friday, May 24, at 12:00 PM: Submissions close for Dean’s Awards The Dean’s Awards project in 4-H Enrollment closes, and all applicants must be entered with their portfolios uploaded into Enrollment. Monday, June 10: Announcement of finalists Five finalists will be selected from each Dean’s Award project area, based on portfolio scores. The finalists will proceed to interviews at State Council Friday, June 21: Interviews for finalists held Georgia 4-H State Council |
Overview
One of the highest awards Georgia 4-H Members can earn is the 4-H Dean’s Award. The Dean’s Awards were established to encourage participation and achievement by 4-H youth in areas fundamental to the mission of 4-H, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. They also recognize youth who have participated in and excelled at a broad spectrum of activities and experiences over a sustained period of time. The Awards also aim to improve participants’ resume-preparation and interviewing skills. Dean’s Awards are offered in six major project areas: Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Civic Engagement, Communications and the Arts, Family and Consumer Sciences, Leadership, and STEM. Competition participants will submit a cumulative portfolio that spans their entire 4-H career for judges to score. In each of the Dean’s Awards’ six project areas, individuals with the five highest portfolio scores will be selected as finalists and asked to participate in interviews.
Eligibility
- Participant must be an active ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade 4-H’er during the current year.
- No previous winner in a Dean’s Award project is eligible to compete in any of the six Dean’s Awards areas. Previous state winners in other projects and events of 4-H are eligible for competition in the Dean’s Awards projects.
- Each county may submit as many applicants and entries in the Dean’s Awards projects competition as they wish.
- A 4-H’er is eligible to enter only one project area of Dean’s Awards competition in one year.
Project Areas
An award will be presented in each of these six areas:
- Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
- Civic Engagement
- William “Bill” Edwards 4-H Dean’s Award for Communications and the Arts
- Family and Consumer Sciences
- James Harris 4-H Dean’s Award for Leadership
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
Awards & Recognition
First Place winners in each category will receive:
- Master 4-H’er Status
- A $500 scholarship
- Recognition during 4-H Day at the Capitol
First, second, and third place in each area will receive a medallion to commemorate their achievement.
Portfolio Requirements
A cumulative (entire 4-H career) portfolio in one of the six project areas listed above. The portfolio may be handwritten or typed in blank ink. The original work must be done by the 4-H member.
- Portfolio should contain the Dean’s Awards Cover Sheet, a one-page cover letter, two pages of accomplishments, two pages of supporting material, and two letters of reference. The Dean’s Awards Cover Sheet must be printed, properly signed, and included as the first page of the portfolio. All pages should contain information on one side only of 8.5 x 11-inch paper. The back side of all pages must be blank. Font size should be no smaller than 10 points throughout the portfolio. The completed portfolio should be uploaded as a single PDF file.
- The cover letter and two accomplishment pages should maintain a minimum of one-half-inch margins on all four sides.
- Paper should be white with black ink or type. Color ink is not permitted.
- No artwork, pictures, or clip art are allowed on these pages.
- Computer generated bullets may be used to highlight information.
- The cover letter is a tool of introduction. There are no rules as to its content. The letter should be addressed “Dear Project Judge” and signed by the 4-H’er. The cover letter can address any information or time. It may also address future goals.
- The two-page outline of accomplishments is a presentation of the 4-H’ers cumulative work over their 4-H career.
- Supporting material can be placed on one side of the page only. Paper should be white 8.5 x 11-inch paper with no shingling. This means that all items must adhere to the page.
- The two reference letters should be affirmation of the 4-H’ers cumulative project work.
Submissions
Applications must be submitted in the following way:
- Signed and complete electronic copy of portfolio must be emailed to Mrs. Allie at allie.griner@uga.edu by Friday, May 24, 2024, at 12:00 PM.
Resources
We have sample portfolios available for you to review to get an idea of how to structure your portfolio. Hopefully, these samples will give you an idea of what might work well and also assure you that there is no one right way for youth to organize their portfolio.
HELPFUL TIP: Just as with a personal resume, more may not always be more. What good is it to list every single activity, regardless of significance or relevance, if you have to make the text so small and crammed that no one can read it without getting a headache? Youth should be sure to feature/highlight those activities they feel were most memorable, important, challenging, rewarding, and most on point for the given project area. Think about which things you’d most want to talk to the judges about. Which activities are the best representation of your work in this project area? In order to better highlight these impactful aspects, youth might choose to omit some less relevant, less significant activities if their portfolios are looking too busy or cramped to follow.
Choosing A Project Area
Please note that a Dean’s Award will be presented in each of the following six areas, and applicants must select one area in which to compete. To that end, please see the brief descriptions for each area below:
· Agricultural and Environmental Sciences– Choose this area if your 4-H and other extracurricular work has focused on any of the following topics or similar: agricultural awareness, environmental education, environmental activism, agribusiness, agritourism, livestock production, showing animals, precision agriculture, farming, horticulture, etc.
· Citizenship / Civic Engagement – Choose this area if your 4-H and other extracurricular work has focused on any of the following topics or similar: community service projects, service learning, fundraising for causes, voter registration drives, Leadership in Action, letter-writing campaigns, raising issue awareness, volunteerism, community involvement or activism, etc.
· William “Bill” Edwards 4-H Dean Award for Communications and the Arts – Choose this area if your 4-H and other extracurricular work has focused on any of the following topics or similar: public speaking, journalism, dance, performing arts, graphic design, acting/drama, singing, playing instruments, debate, mass communication, writing, etc.
· Family and Consumer Sciences – Choose this area if your 4-H and other extracurricular work has focused on such topics as food product development, healthy living, interior design, consumer judging, LifeSmarts, clothing and textiles, mental health awareness, bullying and cyber-bullying prevention and awareness, financial responsibility and literacy, substance abuse prevention, community wellness, etc.
· James Harris 4-H Dean Award for Leadership – Choose this area if your 4-H and other extracurricular work has focused on such activities as serving in officer roles in various clubs or organizations, coordinating projects and activities, participating on advisory or leadership boards, participating in leadership conferences or seminars, developing and studying leadership skills, serving as a teen leader, participating in mentorship programs, leading classes or lessons, etc.
· STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) – Choose this area if your 4-H and other extracurricular work has focused on any of the following topics or similar: robotics, space exploration, 3-D printing, coding, STEM Ambassadors, Mission Make It, Tech Team/Technology Summit, computer programming, S.T.E.M. awareness, pure science, applied engineering, physics, astronomy, etc.
HELPFUL TIP: Remember that applying to the Dean’s Awards is similar to applying for a job. Youth should reflect on all they’ve done and determine where they feel their efforts were most focused. Then, pick the area that allows them to best market themselves. For example, let’s say that a youth has really been all about sports, both for competition and leisure. That could be a good fit for Family and Consumer Sciences if they did sports, in part, for the health benefits & were able to raise awareness or encourage others to participate, too. However, the youth might also apply under the Leadership category if they found themselves in leadership roles on their teams, helped coach younger kids, served as a counselor/teen leader at sports day camps, etc. What’s more, if the youth hosted lots of free sports clinics/lessons, wrote articles raising awareness about the health benefits of sports, organized sports-involved fund raisers (like bike-a-thons), etc., then that could also fall under the Citizenship/Civic Engagement Category. In other words, youth should think about which category best fits the bulk or most important aspects of their career, and then shape their portfolio and materials with that chosen area in mind (like how you adjust a resume based on the particular job being sought and the qualifications the prospective employer says they need – you go through your resume and make sure that you emphasize and highlight those experiences that best match the job).
If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Allie at allie.griner@uga.edu. For additional information, please visit: https://georgia4h.org/programs/focus-areas/citizenship/community-global-affairs/deans-awards/
