Tanya Crawford

It’s hard to overstate the role that 4-H has played in Tanya’s life.

Growing up, the York County 4-H program was a place where she learned crucial lessons, made lifelong friends and where early mornings and long days gave way to achievements that she still feels proud of to this day.

It was also a tradition that connected three generations of her family.

“I always say that my whole story starts with 4-H,” Tanya says. “Even though we lived in a different county, my dad insisted I do York County 4-H just like him and my grandpa. He had so much pride in that program — it just gave him a special feeling.”

Today, Tanya has spent over 15 years working for Nebraska Extension’s 4-H Program, using her two Husker degrees and a lifetime of experience to give the next generations of kids that same special feeling. Much of that time was spent as the lead Extension educator for York and Polk counties, where she helped youth in her areas discover 4-H in more ways than ever.

“When I started working for York County, we weren’t in any of the schools. Zero,” she says. “Today, our School Enrichment Program offers hands-on learning and high-quality programming to every school. Last year, we had programming in almost every single elementary class in the county.”

It’s an achievement she’s proud of, but also one she’s quick to credit Platte County 4-H for inspiring. Before coming home to York, Tanya started her career with Platte County 4-H, whose robust school outreach program inspired Tanya to strengthen York’s youth engagement programming. It’s evidence of the wide-spanning influence that the University of Nebraska–Lincoln-led program has on communities in all 93 counties — and how it’s built a presence that impacts one in three eligible youth across the state.

“It’s so fun to watch kids learn by doing and have those ‘light bulb’ moments. Making sure we’re reaching more and more kids has just been so important to me, and our numbers have been great.”

Tanya knows as well as anyone, though, that it’s not really about the numbers when it comes to 4-H’s impact. It’s about the individuals and the small moments — the positive, one-on-one interactions where a great teacher can shape and influence a young person for their whole life.

Tanya’s dad and grandpa knew this, too, which is why they insisted that Tanya travel a county over from their home to participate in the York County 4-H program.

“When I started 4-H in York County, I quickly realized that it wasn’t just the county that mattered to my dad — it was the educator, Gene Bergen,” Tanya explains. “Gene was my dad’s 4-H educator, and way before that he was my grandpa’s good friend. Gene was the one who first convinced my grandpa to get my dad involved in 4-H.”

The 4-H youth activities director for Nebraska Extension in York since 1970, Gene showed Tanya the ropes and nurtured her love for the program. Just like her dad, Tanya came to learn that 4-H wasn’t about ribbons, awards or placing in a competition. 4-H was about learning how to work with intention.

“My dad knew, probably from Gene, knew that 4-H would teach us a lot of grit and a lot of work ethic — and a lot of rewards would come later.”

Tanya’s father, who owns and operates a feedlot, saw those rewards for himself. He spoke often of the grand championship he won in the carcass competition and the pride it instilled.

“I think that championship gave my dad a lot of confidence as a producer. He was always really proud of it, even later into his career,” she says. “He just knew that 4-H was going to give his kids that confidence, too.”

Her dad was right.

As she moved through 4-H, Tanya had her own wins and moments of triumph that she held onto her whole life. None more so than when she was named reserve champion at the Aksarben Stock Show.

“When I won, Gene came up to me and said, ‘I’m proud of you, kid.’ Years later, on the day I started my dream job with York County 4-H, he came into my office and said same thing to me.”

In the years between those pivotal declarations of pride, Tanya needed to decide what she wanted to do with her life after graduating high school and moving on from her time as a 4-Her. When she really thought about what she loved, the answer suddenly seemed obvious.

“Thinking about what I wanted to do, what I liked and what I enjoyed so much about 4-H, I realized, ‘Oh, I want to be Gene Bergen.’”

Suddenly sure of her path, Tanya came to Lincoln to study ag education at the University of Nebraska.

“I was on the non-teaching track, so I really felt like I got that ‘leadership’ education there that carried over into 4-H. I also had a great advisor who really helped me nail down the right options for me.”

After graduation, Tanya worked for Nebraska Extension’s Platte County 4-H program. A few years later, her dream job as an Extension Assistant in York County opened up. A familiar face was there to greet her.

“Gene was still around at that time, serving on the board of the County Fair. He popped into my office on my first day and gave me that, ‘I’m proud of you, kid.’ I still have a picture of his hat on my door from when he came in that first day and set it there.”

Tanya has since moved up in her role, taking on the job of associate Extension educator after earning her Master of Science through the College of Education and Human Science’s online Youth Development and Specialization program. Beyond working with local school systems to put 4-H programming in county classrooms, she partners with the York Chamber of Commerce, York Parks and Recreation, the library system and advising Extension boards across Nebraska on how to keep this program she loves growing.

“There is so much we do that I’m proud of. We have our Ag Literacy Festival for fourth graders that teaches them all about Nebraska agriculture. We’ve partnered with the makerspace in our local library to offer workshops for kids to learn different skills, like screen-printing. We’ve just got so many fun things going on.”

As much as 4-H has to offer kids in the way of learning, work ethic and responsibility, Tanya stresses the importance of the fun they’re having — and the relationships they’re making — along the way.

“That’s what I love about my job — half the time, our kids won’t get a ribbon, and most them don’t even care. It’s all about loving the process, hanging out with friends and making those memories. I was so, so competitive as a kid and, at the time, it was all about winning. Today, I just remember all the times I had with my friends.”

It’s those memories that keep her coming back. For Tanya, there’s nothing better than when she meets other Nebraskans who’ve kept coming back, too.

“Back in Platte County, there were two eight-year-old girls that I took to their very first horse judging competition to learn how to judge. I brought them to UNL’s campus to learn some things about judging. All these years later, one of those girls is a judge and club leader in Platte County 4-H, giving back to the program that built her. There are so many cool, full-circle moments like that in 4-H.”

Of course, stories like these reflect her own full-circle experience.

“It’s just like how Gene was for me, and now I get to be that person for other people.”