Michigan 4-H Spotlight: Danykah Muck
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EmailOctober 28, 2025
On Wednesday, October 8, MSU Extension hosted the third annual Michigan 4-H Day at the Capitol. This event showcases the positive impact of the Michigan 4-H program and brings visibility to its efforts throughout the state.
Hear from 16-year-old Michigan 4-H member Danykah Muck of Livingston County, who spoke at the event.
Video Transcript
For a final speaker of the afternoon, I would like to introduce Danica Muck. Danica is a 16 -year-old 4-H member from Livingston County. She has been a member of 4-H since the age of five and participates in many project areas, including animal science, metal art, woodworking, leadership, and community service. Danica also serves in many leadership roles in her county 4-H program, as well as sits as a member of the statewide Michigan 4-H State Youth Leadership Council and the Michigan 4-H Spectacular Youth Leadership Institute Steering Committee. Please welcome Danica. Good morning. I'm Danica Muck from Livingston County 4-H. I'm a 16-year -old fourth-generation 4-H member. I am so excited to speak to you all today about my 4-H story. I would like to share a little bit about my 4-H and what it has done for me throughout the years. Not only have I learned about how to raise animals and do amazing projects, but it's also helped me to be on this stage right now. Forage has shaped me into being a better leader, making sure I keep an open mind and stay calm. In tough situations, it matters most. But it doesn't stop there. I am learning something new every day about how I can grow. Not only as a leader, but as a student, a friend, a co-worker, and a daughter of two loving parents. A very important mentor in my life is my mom. She has taught me a lot about leadership. But you see, I have a huge advantage, as my mom works for 4-H Extension and teaches leadership and youth voice. However, if she wasn't my mom, I would still have these opportunities to learn these skills through 4-H from her other amazing staff and volunteers. She herself learned these skills as a youth in 4-H and that it is what started her passion to work for MSU Extension. My mom's story is similar to many of the 4-H staff and volunteers, in that they have a passion to empower youth and teach them the skills that last a lifetime. One of my favorite moments in 4-H was when a staff member used our travel to National 4-H Congress to teach us the life skills through real -life experience. The other members and I had to find our way from the airport to the hotel on the MARTA, which is a public transport system. The staff gave us instructions and challenged us to figure it out ourselves, all while staying close by and keeping us safe, but letting us lead. It did come with frustrations, such as when we got split into two different passenger cars and both teams had different information we needed to succeed. we had to figure out how to get the missing information while enduring the nerves of being in unfamiliar surroundings on a train we had never been on that felt rickety and you just felt you're in the way of other passengers but we made it safely and we were proud to have met the challenge and accomplished that goal another frustrating learning moment of mine in 4-H was during the election of officers for our horse committee meeting as the president I could not say the word unanimous, and every vote required me to say unanimous ballot. The problem was an adult made me feel very humiliated by making it a big deal and calling me out. Thankfully, my other leaders immediately came to my aid and empowered me to say it properly while also sharing things they couldn't pronounce. They did what a 4 -H leader and mentor should do and encouraged me to do it right. The rest of the meeting went very well. I now have a lot of confidence when running elections. Instead of backing away from challenges, I go head in. The sense of confidence and empowerment that I have gained through 4-H has also led me to speak up here and take action when I see things that are unfit. One of my very close friends felt bullied and unappreciated, and she let those negative thoughts affect her to the point she made a life -altering decision. She was so kind, loving, and enthusiastic about all things in life. She was amazing, and for one brief moment, let someone else tell her she wasn't. Because of Karis, I wanted to work on a class for our 4 -H Spectacular Youth Leadership Institute that showed other youth how your words have power. Through simple words, you can build someone up or tear them down. Sometimes it is in the meaning of the word, and sometimes it's how you say it. My class was built to help others realize when they say things how impactful it can be and to work towards always going the positive route. In addition, they should call on others to move towards positive words and they hear someone being negative. I had 4-H staff to help me fulfill this dream by helping me create the class and giving me a time and place to teach it. I got to teach this event statewide. They also supported me during the class and plan to help me to continue and grow the sharing this message. 4-H offers many programs that do exactly what I did, which is to give me the skills to make a difference by providing positive learning opportunities and positive adult youth mentoring. This is why 4 -H is so great, and we need to continue advocating and sharing our stories. 4-H has changed youth's lives and filled spaces that need to be with positive youth development. Through programs and projects, we learn valuable life skills even without knowing we're learning them. 4-H staff and volunteers work towards helping youth knowing that they're leaders of today, not just tomorrow. Thank you for listening to my 4-H story today, and I hope that you start to grow yours as I continue to grow mine. Whether through volunteering, membership, or supporting 4-H and MSU Extension, you will not regret the lives you change. Thank you.