Clemson’s 4-H Pinckney Leadership program gets visit from National 4-H Council

Clemson University began the 4-H Pinckney Leadership program in 2016 as a means of helping middle and high school students develop their leadership abilities and awareness of civic engagement through camps, conferences and a roundup event.

The program has grown to more than 750 youth and adult leaders representing 37 of South Carolina’s 46 counties. At this year’s 4-H Pinckney Leadership Roundup, the program had the privilege of hosting Jill Bramble, president and CEO of the National 4-H Council, and Natalie Godwin, vice president of corporate communications of the National 4-H Council.

“It just shows the effort South Carolina 4-H as well as Clemson Cooperative Extension has been making to make sure that our young people are prepared not only for the problems that they’ll face, but also for the things that they are facing right now. We’re making sure our young people are prepared to be not only well-rounded citizens, but also able to contribute to the workforce in the future, whether it’s postsecondary school, college or even a trade or career directly after high school,” said Rushawnda Olden, director of the 4-H Pinckney Leadership program.

The program was created in honor of the late South Carolina Senator Clementa Pinckney, who was murdered along with eight others at Emanuel AME in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was a senior pastor.

“Senator Pinckney was someone who was a very strong advocate of youth development and of youth leadership development,” Olden said. “He was an advocate for 4-H in general. He was a 4-H member in Jasper County and he had a very close relationship with his 4-H agent. What we’re doing is continuing his legacy by keeping his principles of leadership, love, community service and civic engagement alive.”

In July, Clemson will hold a 4-H Pinckney Leadership Camp for rising seventh and eighth graders at Camp Long in Aiken, South Carolina. Students will participate in leadership workshops, team-building activities and high ropes course, community engagement, traditional camp activities and more.

In both June and July, Clemson will host a 4-H Pinckney Leadership Conference for rising 10th and 11th graders at the University. The students will participate in:

• Leadership workshops focused on building confidence and communication skills
• Team-building activities to foster collaboration and problem-solving
• Community engagement projects to inspire service and civic responsibility
• Sessions on career and college readiness, including networking and planning for the future
• Experiencing college life on Clemson’s campus
• Whitewater rafter for adventure and team-bonding
• And more

If accepted, students must commit to being active in the 4-H Pinckney Leadership program activities throughout the year.

4-H Pinckney Leadership Roundups are held in three locations – Columbia, Florence and Charleston. Youth leaders from diverse backgrounds participate in hands-on student leadership sessions, engage in critical dialogue centered on personal excellence, establish and maintain relationships with likeminded student leaders and connect with professionals from higher education.

The program’s success stems from partnership’s Olden has been able to cultivate across the state. Those partners are instrumental in spreading the word to youth in their various regions about the Leadership program. One of those partners is Low Country Youth Services in Charleston.

McKendrick Dunn, associate executive director of Low Country Youth Services, learned of the 4-H Pinckney Leadership Round-up when he met Olden at a conference. He approached her about holding a 4-H Pinckney Leadership Roundup in Charleston. Olden said she didn’t have local connections there and would need help promoting it.

“Our access to kids and the community was kind of a match,” Dunn said. “When we told her we would be her legs on the ground to make the Leadership Roundup happen, she was happy to finally find a partner that she could work with.

“As a result, we brought the first one here in 2024 and it sold out. We put the word out, we made flyers, we went to schools, we used our social media followers. We not only sold out, but we had people waiting to get in.”

This year’s event, which was held in March, sold out a month ahead, Dunn said. The 4-H Pinkney Leadership Roundup featured speakers from across the state, interactive workshops, networking and a live DJ.

Dunn called working with Olden and her staff a “relationship that was meant to be.”

“She’s very meticulous when it comes to how she wants that program run and also making sure she had contingencies in place in the event of any issues that come up from registration to speakers to food,” Dunn said. “She has a great staff of volunteers who support her and I’d like to think that we are a good complement to her and that staff. When she’s here, we look at ourselves as servants to her. We understand this is the program she’s owning and facilitating.”

For more information on the 4-H Pinckney Leadership program, contact Olden at 864-986-1195.