Desmyn Owens’ parents are teachers who value community leadership, and she grew up next to a farm where cattle grazed in rural Brunswick County, Va..
It was 4-H, a youth development program, that influenced her studies and led her to a new role in Virginia Beach.
Owens, 23, recently became Virginia Beach’s new associate extension agent for 4-H youth development, filling a position that has been vacant for more than a year. The program is part of the Virginia Cooperative Extension and works closely with the city agriculture department.
Owens grew up appreciating natural resources, and she said 4-H helped her think about giving young people better understanding of the importance of farming in daily life.
“The world does not operate without agriculture,” Owens said. “Without farmers, we could be starving or naked. That’s a saying, but it’s true. So it’s important for you, especially young people, to understand where their food comes from, understand the importance of agriculture and how we use it in our daily lives and how we couldn’t function without it.”
The 4-H name represents “head, heart, hands and health,” values members work to embody. Here, that means working with well-established programs driven by volunteers, including longtime farming families, while helping to expand outreach throughout Virginia Beach.
Virginia Beach 4-H activities include a livestock club known for its annual show and sale, a popular summer camp and educational programs such as embryology — incubating and hatching chicks in schools.
Owens said she hopes to see the latter program return to classrooms after recent challenges related to issues such as egg availability.
She attended Virginia State University, where she studied agricultural business, and is pursuing a master’s degree at Virginia Tech. Along the way, she has worked in various aspects of extension through internships, including in 4-H.
After her VSU graduation in 2023, she moved to Hampton Roads for a final year of athletic eligibility in softball at Norfolk State University.
Now, she said, she’s excited to work with volunteers to support existing programs while growing camp numbers and educational outreach.
“I’m looking forward to being able to get back into some of the schools to establish some of those relationships with teachers and the school administrators,” she said.
Virginia Beach Agriculture Director David Trimmer said it’s important to have someone in the role of supporting a range of clubs, programs and volunteers. He said 4-H isn’t just for rural communities and for families involved in Virginia Beach’s farming industry.
“You go where you can make that impact,” he said. “The southern part of the city is a good portion of the programming. However, it’s not the only area ... I don’t see it as a farm program or a southern-part-of-the-city program. I see it as a Virginia Beach program.”
Owens hopes to expand efforts in urban areas of the city to include young people who might not think 4-H is for them.
“It’s not just agriculture anymore, honestly,” she said. “So even if you don’t have an interest in that, everybody could benefit from caring about their environment around them. You can benefit from gaining leadership skills.”
Another important aspect is citizenship, she added, and 4-H taught her she could take an active role in her community.
“We all need to be concerned about the people around us,” Owens said.
“I feel like 4-H opened up opportunities for me and really opened my eyes to believe that I, myself, and my peers had the ability to impact the world around us.”