Andrew Bosworth, vice president of Facebook advertising, was an active 4-H youth in Santa Clara County from age 9 to 19, reported Parija Kavilanz on CNN Money. He said he learned computer programming from a 4-H mentor before eventually attending Harvard, where he met Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
"I was into cooking projects and I raised sheep, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs," Bosworth told the reporter. "I wore my 4-H uniform and would show my animals at the country fair."
4-H is now focusing on programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in order to prepare youth for prosperous careers, aiming to reach 10 million youth nationwide by 2025, a 67 percent increase. Much of the growth will be fueled by STEM programming. Bosworth said 4-H's learn-by-doing, hands-on approach is a key to generating interest in STEM.
"If you look back to my experience with 4-H, what was great was that you were doing an activity and building a social skill," said Bosworth. "It was fun. You were doing it with your friends, and you were doing it as part of the community."
