Elias Espinosa
Extension Agent – Cooperative Extension Program
4-H Youth Development
Email: efespinosa@pvamu.edu
The Culture Committee Continues to Combat Cultural Bullying by the Texas 4-H Culture Committee of Dallas County’s Leadership Team: Faith Apodaca, Ryleigh Gamble, Abigail Kailukaitis, Gabriella Pardo, Sophia Pardo, Jennifer Rayman, Lux Walker, Anthony Vu.
After witnessing cultural bullying of friends, our committee members Faith Apodaca and Gabriella Pardo co-founded the Texas 4-H Culture Committee of Dallas County with two adult mentors. Through education and community engagement, our committee’s goal is to eliminate cultural biases that lead to cultural bullying. According to justice.gov, over 59% of single-bias hate crimes in 2022 occurred because of race, ethnicity, and ancestry. This makes our initiative, Many Cultures, One Community, vital. Since our committee’s founding in 2023, we have reached over 5,500 people in the community. Since 2023, our small team has grown from two youth to a leadership team of eight, four Culture Ambassadors, two Junior Culture Ambassadors, and over twenty volunteers and advocates.
2023-2024
This year, we have hosted booths and participated in a total of 11 community events such as Dia de Los Muertos and Culture in the Core, increasing cultural knowledge through fun educational and interactive cultural games and activities. We’ve shared culture within 4-H with presentations at the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Global Cultural Exchange to Japan led by our Culture Ambassadors. We’ve participated in Cultural Art Exchange with 4-H clubs from across the US and beyond, such as Michigan and China, to learn more about other cultures and to share our own. We have expanded our reach beyond Dallas County to include Hemphill County with a cultural exchange weekend in planning. And we are currently planning for a community Cultural Arts Day to celebrate the diverse cultures in the community through a wide range of cultural music, dance, art demos, hands-on activities, and food trucks.
2024-2025
To reach our 2024-2025 4-H year goals, we needed funds. Last fall, we applied for multiple grants and received over $5,000. One such grant was the National 4-H Lead to Change community initiative grant. To apply, we created a three-minute video sharing our community initiative, the rationale for why the initiative is needed, and the benefits and purpose of the funds. From all the grant applications received across the country, we made the top 3 and received $5,000! The placement earned our committee the opportunity to compete as a Lead to Change finalist for an additional $5,000 grant to further fund our ongoing project to eliminate cultural biases and bullying.
So, seven of our youth’s leadership team and two mentors boarded a plane and returned to DC in March. We presented to 1600 youth and their chaperones from around the US and beyond at the National 4-H Ignite five-day conference. We shared our initiative through a presentation with event photos to educate and inspire 4-Hers from all over the country to be the change. Though we did not receive the additional grant, placing second, we did receive additional support to provide the funds we require.
Leadership Team and their Mentors in Washington, DC
While at the conference, we attended multiple workshops learning about various topics and career paths spanning from STEM to food and nutrition and more. We explored career tracks and networked with professionals. Along the way, we learned about sustaining our life’s passion and perseverance, guiding our own path, and overcoming setbacks through the experiences of many wonderful speakers including Kevin Olusola (Pentatonix member/beatboxer) and Emily Calandrelli, (aerospace engineer/author/tv-show host/STEM enthusiast/100th woman in space).
Workshop speakers Kevin Olusola and Emily Calandrelli.
Our team member, Faith Apodaca, and chaperone Liz Espie co-led two workshop sessions to youth from across the country in which they shared seven brainstorming methods. The attendees enjoyed the sessions and shared positive feedback. Raelea from Indiana said, “Just within the short amount of time that we were working with teens that we didn’t even know and had just met, we were able to come up with solutions to real-world problems.” Savanah from Michigan said, “I feel like sometimes when teens get together for events like this 4-H Ignite, we get nervous and feel like our words don’t matter, but this really showed that there’s different ways, like my group did sticky notes, to share ideas and then to come together to a common resolution that you didn’t think could have happened. So, this was a great workshop and I’m glad I took it.”
Attendees in various workshops.
Beyond the workshops and guest speakers, we had the opportunity to tour DC and support the Dallas 4-H soccer team as they competed in the very first National 4-H Soccer Cup! Our team made it to the finals! It was a great opportunity to walk around DC, bond, and support our Texas team. We also explored a sustainable farm and transplanted strawberry plants. On our last night in DC, a DJ kept our spirits up with great music as we enjoyed the dance floor, a photo booth, and a final night with our new friends. We returned better change-makers, better friends, and an even better team—committed to our vision of a safe and welcoming community for all cultures.
One of our favorite parts of attending the Ignite conference was meeting new people. 4-H provides us the opportunity to meet up with people around the county, which not only makes the event extremely fun but also makes it very informative. Getting to make new friends, practice our social skills, and learn about people from around the world was so much fun and left us feeling very inspired.
Around Washington, DC
This is the third year our committee has travelled to DC to be the change we want to see. Every year, we encounter new opportunities, broaden our knowledge and understanding of the world, get inspired by peers from across the country making a difference in their communities, collaborate with other teams to reach new solutions to community problems, and expand our mindsets. This year was no different. We have returned more certain than ever of the need for our committee’s commitment to end cultural biases that lead to cultural bullying of youth. We are rejuvenated and inspired by peer support and feedback to continue our goal of creating a safe and welcoming space for all cultures.
If you would like to join our initiative as a team member, advocate, or volunteer, please do so. All are welcome. Many Cultures, One Community.
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