AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - Kenneth Reese is a freshman at Auburn and he's already making history in the state 4-H club.
Reese was the first Black president of Alabama 4-H, which is America's largest youth development organization. It is an organization that is active in more than 100 public universities. 4-H provides young people leadership and educational experiences to help them in life.
Reese was apart of 4-H since elementary school he states that "it wasn't as active as most 4-H clubs should have been." So he went to his mother who was a schoolteacher and told her how much he loved the organization and wanted to officially start a club in his hometown, Ensley, Alabama.
They started the club and over time it began to grow and win many awards and competitions which gave Reese a foundation of leadership experience and lead to more opportunities. He became the Vice President of the Jefferson County region of 4-H and applied to be a state ambassador.
During his second year of being a state ambassador Reese decided to run for president of Alabama 4-H and won. He was president for the 2019-2020 year. He soon learned that he was the first Black state ambassador and president in Alabama 4-H history.Reese says, “I honestly didn’t know...I just was really fascinated with and eager to move up in the leadership. But it meant the world to me, to be honest. When you think about it, it shows how diverse 4-H is becoming, but also how many opportunities everybody, including minorities, is starting to get.”
When it came time to make his college decision, Auburn was always Reese's first choice because he had come to campus several times for 4-H events and he states that, “My parents are die-hard Auburn fans".
Gary Lemme, the director of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and a professor in the College of Agriculture stated, "Kenneth Reese is a living example of the power of 4-H. Through his 4-H involvement as a youth, he developed into the young leader that he is today. 4-H teaches Alabama youth life lessons and provides them with role models. He developed his interest in agriculture through his interactions with extension agents and specialists, and he will be an asset to Auburn University and the College of Agriculture."
Reese is majoring in agriscience education in hopes that he becomes a schoolteacher or become an extension agent for 4-H.
