A&C 7.24.2021 DONE

4-H program helps local youth develop variety of life skills

BY SETH BERRY
Staff Writer
The Calhoun County 4-H
Creative and Expressive Arts
program is back providing

opportunities for area youth

after a pause last summer

due to the COVID-19 pan-

demic.

The program that was

established over two decades

ago focuses on arts, mentor-

ing and leadership skills ,

where participants work

toward putting on a perfor-

mance by the end of the

summer and develop life

skills in the process.

Youth participating in this

summer’s program have

already started meeting four

days a week in the old

Washington Gardner Middle

School building in Albion to

develop skills unique to

dance, music, theater and

drama.

Sherry Grice and

Marquetta Frost are the pro-

gram directors and are excit-

ed about what they have seen

so far from the students they

help oversee.

Grice and Frost both

explained the purpose of the

program is to help guide the

mentors (many have already

been with 4-H for several

years) and for the mentors to

be able to pass along what

they learn to the younger

kids to help them grow and

express themselves in posi-

tive ways.

4-H’s program is support-

ed through MSU Extension

and under the umbrella of

Michigan State University

and operates as a local-

ly-based, community-run

program. Frost mentioned

the program has had a part-

nership with Albion College

in “different ways” for many

years, but that this year, the

two are forming a true part-

nership through Albion’s

Build Albion Bonner Fellows

program.

The program for Albion

students allows them to earn

college credit and/or some

money and are assigned to

different nonprofit organiza-

tions in the community.

Frost said the partnership

is a benefit to the 4-H pro-

gram, with Grice adding that

it helps 4-H be able to offer

more opportunities on a

more consistent, year-round

basis.

“We have three assigned

to us and it’s a wonderful

partnership,” said Frost.

“The young people kind of

get to choose where they

want to go based on their

career interests. We really

are benefiting from this part-

nership by having some very

skilled college students help

us teach our disciplines this

year and help create our pro-

gram. So, we’re really proud

of that—they do a lot of the

technical stuff—social

media, they are really good

with that, and we really

appreciate that partnership.

Added Grice: “The nice

part about it is it gives us

more help in being able to do

things year-round. We’re

probably one of the longest

performing arts programs

that is in Albion at this point

in time. There’s some new

ones starting up, which is

great. We’re blessed to still

be here and if it wasn’t for

the community—aside from

the college, we have many

community folks that volun-

teer, we’ve had community

people that bring food to our

young people and the com-

munity really comes togeth-

er.”

Each mentor has a specific

discipline they teach ahead

of the performance coming

up in late August and are

split up by dancing, singing

and acting.

Those who were present

on June 19 during rehearsal

and leading the acting group

were Chris Gamble (Marshal

High School senior), A’tayah

Artis (MHS senior) and

Sophia McQuown (Albion

College).

Leading the singing sec-

tion were Mary Kurtz

(Albion College) and Ella

Lattimore (MHS senior),

while Makiyah Johnson led

the dance section.

Gamble described the pro-

cess in teaching acting to

students and what it takes to

get them used to acting so

they are prepared to go on

stage.

“We try to get everybody

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Aaliyah Roberts (left) and Ella Lattimore (right) (Photo by Seth Berry). Azaria Cummings (left) and Makiyah Johnson (right) (Photo by Seth Berry).

Lead instructor Chris Gamble (left) and Junior leader Jamiyah Funderburg (right)

(Photo by Seth Berry).

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