I am a dedicated and driven individual with a strong passion for agriculture, youth development, and lifelong learning. Being a student-athlete has profoundly shaped my future career goals by teaching me the importance of discipline, teamwork, time management, and resilience. Balancing academics and athletics required me to develop strong organizational skills and a commitment to excellence, traits that I know will serve me well in my future career. The lessons I’ve learned on the field, such as the value of perseverance, adapting to challenges, and supporting a team, are directly applicable to my aspirations of becoming a Colorado State Extension Agent specializing in 4-H Youth Leadership Development. I am involved in both football and track, where I have had the honor of being co-captain in football and captain in track. These leadership roles have taught me how to motivate others, work collaboratively toward common goals, and stay focused under pressure. In football, I was selected as All-Conference and All-State Honorable Mention, an achievement that reflects my dedication and hard work on the field. As an Athletic Scholar with a GPA above 3.5, I take pride in maintaining academic excellence while participating in these demanding sports. My current GPA is 4.09, reflecting my commitment to balancing my academic and athletic responsibilities. My experiences as a student-athlete have also inspired me to focus on leadership and mentorship in my career. Just as I’ve relied on the guidance and support of coaches and teammates, I aim to provide that same encouragement to young people through agricultural education and youth leadership programs. Athletics taught me the power of collaboration and how to motivate others toward a common goal, skills that I plan to use in fostering the next generation of leaders in agriculture. Outside of sports, I have a deep interest in agriculture and its role in connecting people and sustaining communities. My involvement in 4-H and FFA has been a cornerstone of my life, shaping my character and fueling my passion for educating others about agriculture. These programs have allowed me to engage in hands-on agricultural experiences, develop leadership skills, and advocate for the importance of agricultural literacy. I am particularly passionate about bridging the gap between urban and rural communities, promoting sustainable practices, and helping young people understand how agriculture impacts their lives. In addition to agriculture, I enjoy volunteering and engaging with my community. I find fulfillment in working on projects that bring people together, whether through organizing events, mentoring youth, or participating in local initiatives. These activities allow me to contribute to the well-being of my community while fostering meaningful connections with others. Being a student-athlete has instilled in me a strong work ethic and a passion for leadership, both of which are integral to my career goals. Combined with my interests in agriculture and community service, I am excited to continue growing as a leader and making a positive impact on the lives of others.

Community service to me is putting time, energy, and resources into bettering the lives of others and the well-being of the community as a whole. To serve is to create connections, to meet needs, and to provide opportunities that lift people up and strengthen relationships in a community. This is about making a meaningful, lasting impact; this is about volunteering, this is about being an active part of a cause that is working towards a better tomorrow. This means not only addressing current concerns but also trying to develop lasting changes that will help everyone. My career will focus on giving back to my community as a Colorado State Extension Agent in 4-H Youth Leadership Development. In this role, I will be able to work directly with young people, instilling in them important life skills including leadership, team-building, and community responsibility, while fostering an appreciation for the integral role that agriculture plays in our everyday lives. In my role as a 4-H Youth Leadership Development Extension Agent, I want to help youth be engaged members of their communities, showing them the relevance of agriculture in their day-to-day existence and cultivating pride in its significance. My goal is to further education through programming, workshops, and agribusiness to connect urban and rural communities. Agriculture is a force that unites everybody, from the food we eat and the clothes we wear to the lifeblood of our economy and our work. I hope to foster mutual understanding and collaboration while connecting and celebrating the importance of sustainable agriculture through programming that brings diverse backgrounds together. I will be committed to increasing access to agricultural education and resources, especially for underserved youth. I am convinced that all young people should have a chance to learn, grow, and do well regardless of where they come from. Through teaching 4-H members, funding local agricultural projects, and keeping our planet sustainable, I look to create these opportunities while giving back to the programs and communities that made me into who I am today. Leadership, community, and lifelong learning are values that I embrace for a lifetime of service to the community. My goal is to motivate others to adopt these values and propagate positive change through the community. My goal is to have a lasting impact by mentoring future generations of leaders and supporting people through education and service, reinforcing the agricultural community and society as a whole.

I am Braylon Bruns, a passionate lover of agriculture and advocate for leadership and service. As an active member of 4-H and FFA, both programs played an integral role in my development and passions during my schooling. Those experiences have further taught me the value of hard work, teamwork, and leadership, and have continued to spark my passion for informing others about agriculture. At school, I’ve been studying many classes to supplement my love for agriculture like Agriculture Economics and agricultural sciences. Outside of school, I invest in extracurriculars that interest me. As District 1 4-H President and a member of the Colorado 4-H Senate, I’ve had the opportunity to lead peers, work with mentors, and advocate for agricultural education. Through these roles, I have gained vital skills like public speaking, decision-making, and community outreach. 4-H has also had a significant impact on my life. Through my livestock projects, I’ve acquired practical knowledge of animal husbandry and the breeding of livestock, including swine, poultry, and rabbits. These projects have provided me with an in-depth journey into the agricultural industry and its importance in providing food to our tribes. Community service is an integral part of my life. Whether I am organizing events for 4-H/FFA or mentoring younger individuals, I always do my best to give back to the programs that have given me so much. I love encouraging people to consider ag and developing their leadership skills to help them in any stage of their life. After high school, I am going to Colorado State University for a master’s degree in Agricultural Education with a concentration in Agricultural Literacy. I aspire to become a Colorado State Extension Agent in 4-H Youth Leadership Development. Through this position, I aspire to give back to my community by nurturing youth development and encouraging sustainable agriculture. If I were to start a charity, it would be called “Bridging the Gap: Agricultural Literacy for All.” Its mission would be to connect urban and rural communities through education and hands-on agricultural experiences, fostering understanding and appreciation for agriculture’s vital role in society. The charity would focus on youth and families from diverse backgrounds, aiming to break down barriers, dispel misconceptions, and create meaningful connections between people and the agricultural industry. The charity would host workshops in schools and community centers, offering interactive activities like planting gardens, learning about livestock care, and understanding sustainable farming practices. Farm visits and field days would allow urban families to experience agricultural life firsthand, meet farmers, and participate in activities such as harvesting crops or feeding animals. For communities with limited access to farms, mobile agriculture education units would bring interactive exhibits and demonstrations directly to them. Additionally, youth leadership programs would provide mentorship opportunities and teach skills like teamwork and public speaking, empowering young people to advocate for agriculture. Volunteers would play a crucial role, leading workshops, assisting with farm visits, and supporting community agriculture projects like urban gardens and farmers’ markets. Through my education, interests, and community involvement, I hope to have a significant impact on the agriculture industry and the youth. That part of my journey will not be complete until I share the leadership, education, and understanding that have shaped me.

Failure is a great teacher, and one of the most valuable lessons I had came from my experiences raising and breeding livestock through FFA and 4-H. When I began my livestock projects, I had a passion for success but did not realize how difficult it would be. One that was especially hard was my breeding swine project. No matter how hard I tried though, I failed at time management quite a bit, so I ended up with fewer winners than expected. Watching my efforts go in vain to meet my standards was disheartening. My initial reaction was a wave of frustration and self-doubt. I doubted my own skills and if I was really suitable for the challenges of caring for an animal. But then I realized failure is not something to discourage us, failure is just something to teach us. Rather than quit, I undertook to analyze why this happened. I consulted mentors in FFA and 4-H, read up on best practices, and worked on making notes about animal habits, feeding times, and other conditions. I learned gradually, by getting better through persistence and by learning from the errors I made along the way. The following breeding season, I utilized what I learned, and had far better success. Now my swine project was one of my greatest successes and taught me such valuable lessons about resilience and adaptability, but pursuing this project did not come without its challenges. This experience informed how I approached challenges. I am learning that failure doesn’t make me a bad human; it’s an opportunity for me to grow. It has also taught me the importance of extending my hand for assistance and being open to correction. The teachings have been beneficial in other aspects of my life ranging from holding leadership positions in 4-H to academics. This lack drove me to have a passion for agriculture and help others through their struggles. As a future Colorado State Extension agent, I intend to pass these lessons on to young people in 4-H and teach them to use their failure as a learning opportunity and to never give up. Failure is unavoidable, and in the way we react to it lies our triumph. Accepting failure as a stepping stone to education changed who I was into someone who fights more than before, thinks outside the box to get their answer, and is there to lend a hand to anyone who needs it to get better.

Agriculture and animal husbandry have been central to my life, shaping my values, goals, and identity. My passion for nature and animals began at a young age and deepened through my involvement in 4-H and FFA. These programs profoundly influenced my personal and professional growth, teaching me to love agriculture while fostering leadership, education, and community service. Through FFA’s supervised agricultural experiences, I have gained first-hand insight into the challenges and rewards of animal care. Raising and breeding livestock with my family instilled a strong work ethic, problem-solving skills, and a sense of responsibility. These experiences taught me the vital connection between agriculture and the food chain that sustains us all, fostering a deep appreciation for the hard work required to care for animals and produce food. Beyond technical skills, 4-H and FFA inspired me to lead with purpose. Serving as District 1 4-H President and a member of the Colorado 4-H Senate allowed me to collaborate with peers, mentors, and community leaders to advocate for agricultural education and youth development. These roles strengthened my teamwork, public speaking, and decision-making skills, enabling me to grow personally and professionally as a leader. They also reinforced my belief in agriculture’s power to unite people and create lasting, positive change in communities. What excites me most about agriculture is its ability to connect people, both to the land and to one another. Through 4-H, I have seen how agriculture empowers young people to lead and innovate. These programs have taught me practical skills and emphasized bridging the gap between rural and urban populations. Promoting agricultural literacy is essential to fostering this connection and ensuring that people understand the importance of sustainable agriculture. My passion for bridging this gap inspired me to pursue a master’s degree in Agricultural Education with a concentration in Agricultural Literacy at Colorado State University. This program is a crucial step toward achieving my dream of becoming a Colorado State Extension Agent with a focus on 4-H Youth Leadership Development. In this role, I aim to give back to the programs that shaped me while fostering leadership development and agricultural awareness among young people. I am particularly excited to engage with youth, introducing them to the exciting aspects of agriculture and its impact on society, the environment, and the economy. Agricultural literacy goes beyond understanding farming techniques, it encompasses awareness of agriculture’s broader influence. By promoting this understanding, I hope to inspire future generations to appreciate agriculture’s role in their lives and communities. Through agriculture, I have found a way to make a difference, and I am eager to share my passion for leadership, community, and lifelong learning with others. As I continue my educational and professional journey, I remain committed to agriculture and its transformative power. Caring for animals and participating in agricultural programs have shaped me into the confident and passionate person I am today. I am prepared to make a meaningful impact by educating, inspiring, and empowering others to embark on their agricultural journeys. Agriculture is not just my passion, it is the foundation of who I am and the driving force behind my future aspirations.

Agriculture has always been central to my community, and I strongly believe that it is one of the foundations of the economy, but also something that provides the social and emotional well-being of individuals. Coming from an agricultural background, I know firsthand that farmers and ranchers provide critical resources, and that agriculture plays an invaluable role in creating a sense of community, responsibility, and growth. Through my time in 4-H and FFA, I learned to appreciate how agriculture builds teamwork leadership, and personal development while feeding communities that rely on it. Farming is not just a job, but a way of life that brings people together by connecting them to the land, to animals, and each other. As I work with pigs, poultry, and rabbits through 4-H, I learn responsibility, hard work, and dedication. It has also taught me about how agriculture supports a community where people come together and learn from each other to manage the land and resources responsibly for future generations. From local farmers' markets to agricultural fairs, these events bring people together and forge stronger bonds among those who care about agriculture. Through my goal of pursuing a career in agriculture, I will ultimately have an impact by helping to make agriculture and rural life more accessible to those in which resources are minimal. I want to be an Extension Agent, specializing in 4-H Youth Leadership Development. I want to work with young people from farming backgrounds to develop confidence and skills that allow them to become leaders not only on farms but also in communities. Through 4-H, I was able to develop my sense of belonging, as well as build leadership within myself, and I wanted to do the same for future generations. Overall, the better that young people learn and understand agriculture, the more they will feel connected to their community and will be prepared later in life to take a leadership role to ensure the livelihood of local farms and the agricultural industry at large. And there’s an important role for agriculture to play concerning mental health, a cause I care about. When I learned about the many, often unique, challenges facing Colorado youth — especially in rural areas — through my service on the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, it dawned on me the opportunity we have as people living on the front lines of this issue to have a meaningful and tangible impact beyond just economic. Many rural communities don’t have access to mental health services, but agriculture can be an outlet for those struggles. Animal husbandry workers, farmers, and the larger agricultural community can provide therapeutics. These programs will promote environments of empowerment where both youth and adults build emotional strength and resilience by weaving mental health support into agricultural programs. When I think of the future, I see agriculture as an economic engine and a source of emotional well-being in rural communities. I want to play an active part in that future and will continue to be an advocate for better resources and education of young people and to “lead by example. Working in agriculture and with youth I seek to help build stronger, vibrant communities of growth that eat food together and grow together.