Keri Cochran is new 4-H educator

Keri Cochran is the new 4-H educator for Custer County.
Originally from Arkansas, Cochran moved to South Dakota from West Virginia in July 2024.
While living in West Virginia, Cochran’s interest in 4-H began because of her three children.
“I didn’t get involved in 4-H until we were living in West Virginia. My kids got involved in a club, and they were new to the area, so it was a great thing for them to be a part of something new,” said Cochran. “There’s a pretty big 4-H program in West Virginia. It’s kind of where 4-H started. The early history of 4-H is there.”
Cochran said working in the 4-H office was fun and every day held something new to do.
“Part of my job in West Virginia was to be in the schools. I did different things ... like I promoted the Arbor Day poster contest. And so I went and told kids about the importance of trees, and then they could make a poster that could be entered into the West Virginia poster contest, but I think there’s also one in every state.
“And then I also taught STEM in the schools, and we received solar eclipse glasses from West Virginia University. We distributed them to some of the schools, so they could watch the solar eclipse safely. So that was one of the things that I enjoyed. I used to be a school teacher, so I enjoy being with kids,” said Cochran.
One of her favorite memories was when the Monongahela National Forest was selected to provide the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.
“The 4-H kids helped to make ornaments. I think they made over 6,000 ornaments to go on the tree, and we had a lot of partnerships with the Forest Service educators to go to the schools and make ornaments just to promote the forest. So that was a lot of fun.
“For the lighting of the Christmas tree, 70 4-H volunteers and members ... we traveled to D.C. to watch it be lit, and one of our 4-Hers was one of the lighters. So that was kind of neat. He wrote an essay talking about why West Virginia lands were important to him, and he won so he got to light the Christmas tree,” said Cochran.
Cochran’s husband works for the Forest Service, which brought him to the area. After selling the house and wrapping up the school year, Cochran followed with the children.
“When we moved here, I noticed there was an opening for the 4-H Educator,” said Cochran. “We had such a good experience, my kids and I did in West Virginia, that it’s something that I looked for…that was really a good thing for them to be a part of a club, and to learn about the community and to get to know other kids. So that was important to me.”
Cochran applied for the position in September and received it. She said, “I think it has a lot of potential here, and I’m excited about learning more about South Dakota 4-H.”
When asked what she was looking forward to the most in this position, Cochran said, “I enjoy helping people. So of course, I’m looking forward to meeting some of the volunteers and just getting to know them, because I think that’s important for a 4-H program to be able to have a relationship with your volunteers and your members. I like to work with people, and I enjoy working with kids and helping them to figure out what they enjoy. And I love working one-on-one with people too just to help them be successful.”
Cochran said there has not been someone in the educator role for around a year, and it has been up to the 4-H leaders and community to keep it running.
Within her role as 4-H Educator, Cochran will be helping run the different clubs in the county. Currently, her main goal is to learn more about the program in Custer County, learn what the clubs need and provide those resources. She also does the secretarial work at the offices and writes a newsletter every month.
“Just things like that that are necessary to help members know what’s going on and opportunities they can participate in across the state,” said Cochran.
For example, Custer County recently had 4H students participate in the Beef Cook Off at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo. Three either won champion or champion reserve.
Since the program is an extension of South Dakota State University, Cochran also provides educational resources for anyone interested in agriculture or learning what they can do with their land.
“I’m excited. I don’t know if I’ll be in the schools as much, but I think that might help to recruit new members in 4-H because I think a lot of kids don’t really even know what they can do in 4-H,” said Cochran.
Initially, she did not realize all the things you can do through 4H either.
“Some people think it’s livestock and animals, but you can do a lot more things,” said Cochran.
There are project categories for citizenship and civic education, personal development, leadership, expressive arts, communication arts, family and consumer sciences, healthy lifestyles, shooting sports, technology and engineering, earth sciences and the environment, biological sciences, plants, large animals and small animals.
Children from ages 5 to 18 are encouraged to participate.
“It’s pretty unlimited. They can do whatever they’re interested in, and they just need to find a mentor that can help them learn more about the project area,” said Cochran. “Another thing is that 4-H is really encouraged to be hands-on so that gets kids to look into their areas, but then to learn not by writing things down but by actually doing it. It’s something where they can practice.”
Projects are not required but encouraged. Cochran said children are also asked to talk about their project which gives them public speaking experience. Along with this, clubs have officers like president, vice president, reporter, secretary and so on.
“Those jobs help kids  learn how to lead. The club leader helps them, but it teaches them about how meetings are run. I just think it’s a neat thing for kids to be exposed to,” said Cochran. “It also gives them a chance to voice what they’re interested in, what their club can do in the community.”
Community service is another big part of 4-H.
“A lot of 4-H groups do community service. That’s a part of the program. And when my kids were in West Virginia, they did. They had something every month that they did,” said Cochran. “That’s a big part of it. As a member, you learn about the community and how to care.”
Another important aspect is helping children discover what they like to do.
“I think in this community, there’s so many retired people that would have time to help kids to figure out what they enjoy and to pass on things like quilting and things like that for the younger generation,” said Cochran. “I feel like there’s so many things about 4H that help youth, and especially if they don’t have good mentors and leaders, and they can have that if they don’t have the best home life. So it's just a good thing.”
Parents are encouraged to become volunteers as well, which requires a background check and some training.
“We're always looking for volunteers because that’s really how 4-H is successful,” said Cochran.
However, Cochran’s main goal as the Custer County 4-H educator is to learn how she can help South Dakota youth prepare for the future.
“This has been a challenging time for all of us, but just to help them to navigate the future, and their goals and just to help them become the citizens of tomorrow,” said Cochran. “I think there’s a lot of potential for this area to grow, and for kids to be a part of something that’s bigger than themselves. And I think that’s the main thing I loved about 4-H is it taught kids that it’s not just about you; it’s about everybody around you and how you can help each other.”
The Custer County 4-H educator office is located at 25361 U.S. Highway 385. To learn more, go to the Custer County 4H Facebook page or call 605-673-4971. Cochran is in the office Monday through Wednesday.