Highland County 4H Sends Five Delegates to the Dominican Republic This Summer

This summer, 4-H is doing a service trip to the Dominican Republic. The trip will include 4-H delegates from across the state, including five from Highland County: Cash and Anna Chambers, Jordan and Eleanor White, and Jisoo Han. All have been taking Spanish classes to prepare for the trip. 

Ben Hindman, who serves as 4-H Youth Development Agent in Bath and Highland Counties, is also going on the trip. This will be his second year.

The delegates will be working with Dominican teens to hold a day camp for local children. They will also be doing service work at an environmental center in the local community.

I met up for a roundtable discussion with all five of the Highland 4-H delegates attending this year to ask about their thoughts on going out of the country, service work within their community, and most anticipated activities while in the Dominican Republic.

“I went last year, and I really liked it. I miss a lot of people from there, and also I want to practice my Spanish.”

That’s Cash Chambers, who went on the trip last year and feels thankful to get to experience it again, especially after making so many new friends. He has completed several Spanish classes at Highland High School with Rain Hupman, who he says greatly encouraged his desire to go both years because of the ability to practice his skills.

Jisoo Han was also encouraged by Hupman. She is already bilingual, adding Spanish as a third language. 

“I have a few reasons… I want to practice my Spanish and visit a Latin American country, and I want to expand my social circle.”

Eleanor White loves to travel and has been to many different places in the United States with her family, but never out of the country. That’s what made this opportunity so exciting!

“I’ve read stories and seen pictures of the trip.  I really wanted to experience another country and thought this was a perfect opportunity.”

Her brother Jordan White gives a lot of his time to the community and is a hard worker. He is looking forward to many of the cultural aspects of the trip, as well as the service opportunities, to paint a broader picture of culture in the Dominican Republic. I asked him what he felt had prepared him to go out of the country for the first time, especially without his parents.

“I think Spanish class has helped me learn about culture in the Dominican Republic, so I’ll be more familiar with it. And, I was in Boy Scouts in Colorado and used to being away for a longer period of time camping, so I think I’ll do well.”

Anna Chambers is going for the first time on the trip after seeing all the pictures and fun her brother Cash had last year. She wasn’t quite old enough last summer, but is now raring to go.

“I would say our family travels a lot, so there’s a lot of travel experience. I think our experience in Costa Rica is really going to help, just having some experience in another country. And I think my experience at the library helping with the after school and summer programs will help me with the day campers.”

The 4H delegates are currently in the Dominican Republic having left on July 15 and returning July 24.