Sixteen-year-old Kaycie Hollrah sits across the table in the St. Charles County Extension building, excitedly sharing her journey of making a place for young voices on the County Council. Her mission is clear: to help more teens connect with the work of Extension.

“Every 4-H member has his or her own interest,” explains Victoria Bernard, 4-H Youth Development field specialist for St. Charles County. “Kaycie’s is definitely more about seeing 4-H and Extension impact at a county and community level versus her own personal projects.”

For Hollrah, it’s about finding ways 4-H and the Extension can resonate across the entire county, bringing people together to build a better community.

“I’ve always been really passionate about community service,” the Point Prairie 4-H Club member explains. “I saw how passionate Extension was about community service, and that they wanted to get more youth involved, but didn’t really know the way to go about that.”

Driven by her enthusiasm, Hollrah saw a path to connect the two.

“I wanted a place where youth could come and sit on the council and not only be advocates for the youth of St. Charles County, but also to engage in the community service work that Extension promotes so heavily,” she shares, “as well as learn leadership, team development and collaboration skills.”

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Working with her 4-H leaders, county staff and Extension board members, Hollrah created the St. Charles County Extension Youth Council, and it earned her the 2025 4-H Youth in Action award from the National 4-H Council.

Early involvement in 4-H

Hollrah joined the Point Prairie 4-H Club in the Orchard Farm area, seeking more opportunities than those offered by Girl Scouts.

Although she didn’t grow up on a farm, 4-H hands-on experience of raising chickens, ducks and goats sparked her passion for agriculture. Early on, she also developed a passion for public speaking, competing in state competitions in Missouri. This experience paved the way for leadership roles in the organization.

Hollrah became a member of the Missouri State Civic Engagement Ambassador Team, linking county governments with 4-H youth to see how the program works on a local and state level.

One of her favorite local projects involves 4-H Club caroling for alumni during the holidays.

“They are very grateful,” Hollrah says. “In the back of your head, you think it’s not a huge service to the community. But it really has a big and lasting impact on the people that we are serving in that way. I think it’s a really good representation of how little actions can make big impacts on other people.”

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OUT FRONT: Hollrah’s role in launching the Extension Council Youth Leadership program allows her to attend — and have a voice at — local Extension Council meetings as a nonvoting member at University of Missouri Extension. Representing youth in her community, this leadership program has opened the door for other young people to collaborate and make community-related decisions that affect their lives and well-being.

Great aspirations

Since 2010, the 4-H Youth in Action awards recognize 4-H’ers who have applied the knowledge gained in 4-H to create a lasting impact in their communities and prepare for future careers.

With a genuine passion for community service, Hollrah’s work with the St. Charles County Extension Youth Council garnered recognition as one of four 2025 4-H Youth in Action Award winners.

Not only did she receive a $5,000 scholarship, but she also will spend next year sharing her work and being a national 4-H spokesperson.

“4-H is not just an agriculture program,” Bernard adds. “We offer a lot of other opportunities. What are you passionate about? What is your spark? We can help youth figure out that path to explore that spark.”

As a junior at Orchard Farm High School, Hollrah plans to study at the University of Missouri to work in the 4-H program.

“Working with Missouri 4-H and National 4-H Council has been very eye opening for me to see how much of an impact this program has on a lot of different communities and a lot of different groups of people,” she says. “Being able to see that and how 4-H does serve their community in every aspect, is absolutely one of the biggest things that motivates me to take this into my career. I want to give back to a program that has given so much to who I am.”

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To learn more about Youth in Action, visit 4-h.org/parents/4-h-youth-in-action.