Official says upcoming hires will support youth in several interest areas
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State University has given the green light to three positions that one official says will directly benefit the state’s 4-H program by enhancing college and career readiness opportunities for youth.
Aliah Mestrovich Seay, a 4-H youth development specialist for community vitality, said each of the specialist positions lines up with content provided by academic programs at K-State, giving 4-H members an added boost as they prepare for college and career.
“We are always seeking to align 4-H programs with skills that are going to be needed as youth go on and pursue these types of interests – not just K-12 students, but even beyond that,” said Mestrovich Seay, who will lead the search committees.
She said the groups she heads up have been given an aggressive timeline to put the three positions in place. Those positions include:
- STEM and natural resources specialist, which will be located in the state office in Manhattan. The position includes advising shooting sports, as well as STEM lessons in agriculture, education, architecture, engineering and arts and sciences.
- Healthy living specialist, located in the western part of Kansas. The position includes work in establishing healthy food systems, rural community health and youth wellness programs.
- Agricultural sciences specialist, located in the northeast region of Kansas. The position includes work in agricultural literacy as well as lessons in agriculture, engineering, education and arts and sciences.
All three positions focus on preparing youth for college and future careers in their related areas.
“As the community vitality specialist for 4-H youth development, my goal is to help communities find resources to have healthy and thriving communities, particularly through how young people and community members exercise their leadership and citizenship skills,” Mestrovich Seay said.
“So it’s always a pleasure to interact with specialists with certain content level expertise because community vitality can be used to support STEM, healthy living, agricultural sciences and volunteer development in very similar ways even though the content is different.”
Mestrovich Seay added that youth will benefit from the new hires because they will have more opportunities to build such skills as citizenship, leadership and communication.
Applications for the three positions are open through July 28, or until the position is filled. More information is available online on the Kansas State University careers page, or by contacting Mestrovich Seay by email, [email protected].