Farm life grew on GHS grad, 4-H assistant

Published 3:00 am Thursday, May 25, 2017

If someone had asked Esther Gilbert eight years ago if she would be in “hog heaven” around piglets and baby chicks, she would have said, “no way.”

Today, Esther Gilbert is as “at home” with farm animals and farm life as she was with the surf and sand of Coco Beach, Florida.

Gilbert’s family moved to the Goshen area so the family could be closer to her grandparents. She readily admits that the move was a culture shock.

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“I didn’t know what to think and I’m not sure that I liked being here,” Gilbert said. “But it didn’t take long before I settled in to this way of life.”

Cows and chickens were foreign to Gilbert but her grandfather introduced her to farm life and that changed the way she saw the world.

“I had not been around cows or chickens so I had a lot to learn,” Gilbert said. “But had always had an appreciation of God’s creatures and knew that we were to be good stewards of them. When I moved the Pike County, I just found out about more of God’s creatures.”

Gilbert’s love of the land and farm life grew from the stories that her grandfather told her.

“I loved his stories and everything about farm life,” she said.

Gilbert is a graduate of the Agriscience Academy at Goshen High School and is taking classes at Enterprise State Community College. She plans a career in agricultural education.

She is working at the Pike County Extension Office as the Pike County 4-H agent assistant to Emily Rolling, 4-H Foundation Regional Extension Agent.

“This is a great way for me to learn more about agriculture through the different programs that are offered through 4-H,” she said. “And, it’s also a good way for me to gain experience working with students. I’m interested in the educational aspect of agriculture but I’m also interested in pursuing the other areas of agriculture. There are many opportunities in the field of agriculture so I’m not sure exactly which way I’ll go. But agriculture is definitely the field for me.”

Gilbert expressed appreciation for the opportunity to work with the Pike County 4-H program and with 4-H Agent Rolling.

“I can’t of anything that I would rather be doing right now than working with the 4-H program here,” she said. “There’s no better place for me to learn.”