L-R: New Jersey 4-H members Brooklyn Bilge of Egg Harbor Twp.; Sanjana Patel of Florence; Selda Vural of West Orange; Yazmina Harris of Bridgewater and Cheyenne Bilge of Egg Harbor Twp. Photo credit: Sharon Kinsey.
Five New Jersey 4-H members attended the 2025 Foróige Leadership for Life Conference from July 28-Aug. 1 at the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, Ireland. Foróige’s Leadership for Life Conference, now in its 16th year, hosted 250 high school age youth from Ireland and the United States. NJ 4-H participants included Brooklyn Bilge of Egg Harbor Twp.; Cheyenne Bilge of Egg Harbor Twp.; Yazmina Harris of Bridgewater; Sanjana Patel of Florence; and Selda Vural of West Orange.
Foróige’s Leadership for Life Program is a personal leadership development program aimed at equipping young people to explore their vision and passion and to develop key skills such as planning, decision making, critical thinking, goal setting and problem solving that are core to leadership. NJ 4-H attendees previously completed modules 1 and 2, as well as planned and implemented a service project in their home communities.
“The mission of 4-H is to build a ready generation where youth are gaining real world skills,” said Sharon Kinsey, Camden County 4-H agent, who facilitates the program for NJ 4-H. “The Leadership for Life Program is another opportunity for youth to enhance and practice leadership skills in a global context, while empowering them to take action.”
While at the conference, NJ 4-H members completed the Advanced Module of the program and engaged in more than 15 hours of leadership workshops, which focused on communication skills and advocating for a social issue. The conference also welcomed guest speakers who shared their personal leadership journey. Among them were Niamh Shaw, an internationally known engineer, science communicator and space advocate; Luke Casserly, a performance maker promoting environmental research; and Peter Cosgrove, an expert on the future of work and digital wellbeing.
The 4-H Youth Development Program is part of Rutgers Cooperative Extension and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. 4-H educational programs are offered to all youth, grades K-13, on an age-appropriate basis, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, marital status, domestic partnership status, military service, veteran status, and any other category protected by law.
For more information about the Camden County 4-H Program, contact Sharon Kinsey at (856) 216-7130 x 2 or sbkinsey@njaes.rutgers.edu
