Mower County 4-H'er Natalie Sayles receives Schroeder Scholarship

Natalie has been an active member of Mower County 4-H for 10 years. She held the office of historian of her local Enterprise 4-H club from 2008-2011, and has been president since 2011. She has also been a district representative and secretary of her county’s Advisory Board since 2012. As part of the Advisory Board, she assisted in painting the 4-H building in preparation for her county fair, and was also on a special hiring committee in charge of hiring the new 4-H program coordinator for Mower County.

“Natalie is an exemplary student and member of the community,” said Kaye Hansen, a key leader for the Enterprise 4-H Club. “It is exciting to see a young woman choose a STEM field of study and I have no doubt that she will continue to be a leader in her community wherever she goes.”

Outside of her leadership positions with 4-H, Natalie is also very involved in her community. She was a part of several community service projects through her 4-H club, including packaging Salvation Army Thanksgiving food baskets, and helping out with the Freeborn-Mower Electrical Cooperative’s annual banquet. She has also helped facilitate clean-up projects in her county, including helping to clean the Rose Creek-Enterprise cemetery.

In addition to the Ada and Helmuth Schroeder Scholarship, Natalie has also been the recipient of several notable 4-H awards at both the county and state level including the 4-H Purple Ribbon, the 4-H Grand and Reserve Champion Exhibits, and the 4-H Officer Award. She has also received multiple acknowledgments at the county and state level for her work outside of 4-H in dance, orchestra, and academics.

Natalie has just begun her freshman year at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and is pursuing a major in mechanical engineering. She hopes to inspire children to learn about science at a young age.

“I want to be able to design machines and systems, and come up with my own solutions to problems,” she stated in her application. “I want to help promote science and technology to young kids at an early age. I especially want to be able to encourage more girls to get into science-related paths.”

Congratulations to Natalie Sayles for winning the Ada and Helmuth Schroeder Scholarship award!

Reprinted with permission from 4-H Foundation News.