Fostering positive youth development through Extension education
Matthew Rodriguez, Ph.D., Th.M.
By Matthew Rodriguez, Ph.D., Th.M.
4-H Youth Development Advisor, University of California Cooperative Extension
As a 4-H youth development advisor for the University of California’s (UC) Cooperative Extension, I partner with youth agencies to incorporate volunteer educators into 4-H, school programs, camps, and throughout the community.
I work with families and youth, youth development professionals, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources advisors, specialists, and program teams to address positive youth development strategies for volunteer development across multiple areas, including science literacy and healthy living. For example, one project I am collaborating on is to create a gardening program for youth at a juvenile detention center to address mental health issues.
My work in Extension has allowed me to apply my training in Family Science — research skills, performing community needs assessments, evaluating programs, and more — in the community where I live. I’m able to serve families and develop ways to creatively address community needs, all in the interest of better understanding social disparities of health and how we can work toward addressing them at the community level. I love working with colleagues and community stakeholders to think about ways we can increase well-being in our communities.
What I find most rewarding about my work is the ability to serve my community. I keep telling myself, “If I can only help one youth, then all of this is worth it.” While that might sound corny, I find that it helps ground me in the reason that I do what I do. Reminding myself that I am helping youth and their families gives me motivation to persevere.