Calipatria grad earns state’s highest 4-H honor

Rose Fiorenza, who graduated this year from Calipatria High School, awarded the California Diamond Clover Award, the highest achievement for which a 4-H youth member is recognized in California.

The award was presented in July at the 4-H State Leadership Conference.

In order to be considered for this award, 4-H members must complete a number of requirements, including attending State Leadership Conference or an Area Conference and completing more than 100 hours of community service.

In addition to the mandatory requirements, members have to complete six additional requirements from a list of options such as serving as a state ambassador or serving as a judge at a county, area or state judging day.

Fiorenza, a member of the Magnolia 4-H Club, began her 4-H career at the age of 6, when she joined the cavy project. At the time, she was determined to teach her cavy how to talk to impress the judges at the fair. Although she didn’t meet her goal that year, she did fall in love with the 4-H program. Over the past 12 years, Rose has shown cavies, rabbits, poultry, dairy cattle and feeder calves. She went on to become a junior leader and eventually a teen leader in the small animal projects.

Through 4-H, Rose helped develop and implement Sustainable You! — an environmental science summer camp in Imperial County. Sustainable You! is dedicated to teaching youth how to conserve our natural resources and how to lead more sustainable lives. Rose served as a part of the initial planning team before eventually becoming the president of the planning committee and youth director of the camp itself.

For the past two years, Rose has served on the California 4-H Civic Engagement State Advisory Board. She was instrumental in helping create and develop statewide curriculum on teaching civic leadership to youth. She also gave presentations on the same subject at the California 4-H State Leadership Conference.

Rose describes this past year in 4-H as her most memorable. She served as one of seven 2017-18 California 4-H State Ambassadors. Through this position, she helped create an Emotional Intelligence workshop to be presented at all of the Area Conferences within the state.

She was also given the opportunity to attend Alberta 4-H’s Club Week as part of a global exchange with Alberta 4-H. Rose describes this as one of her “favorite memories made through 4-H.”

This year, Rose was one of five youths who represented California at the National 4-H Conference. While there, she gave a presentation to the federal Department of Health and Human Services on how to implement positive youth development into their healthy living programs.

“It was an absolutely surreal experience,” Rose recalls. “To know that such a big governmental agency truly values what you have to say is so empowering.”

Although her days as a 4-H youth member are dwindling,

Rose plans to become a 4-H volunteer to give back to the program that gave her so much. This fall, she will be attending the University of California, San Diego to pursue a degree in Marine Biology with an emphasis on Marine Biodiversity and Conservation.

To learn more about Diamond Clover, or the Imperial County 4-H program please contact smabatti@ ucanr.edu, or call (442) 265-7700.