PRYDE participated for the third time in 4-H’s Annual Career Explorations program on June 25th through June 27th. The New York State 4-H Office organizes Career Explorations event each year, bringing hundreds of 4-H youth to Cornell’s campus to attend hands-on learning workshops run by Cornell faculty, staff, and students. In these workshops, youth explore diverse career tracks and learn about higher education pathways and campus life.

This year, PRYDE hosted a “Tour of Human Development across the Lifespan” workshop. Over the course of three days, PRYDE introduced youth to the study of human development. Throughout the program, youth learned common methodologies used by researchers to study human development and compared how social scientists from differing fields study the various stages of life.

To help PRYDE offer both an interactive and informative workshop, several laboratories welcomed participating youth in the workshop and offered a first-hand look at what researchers are doing to study human development. The Social Media Lab invited youth to provide feedback on a module of their TestDrive program, an online tool that teaches children to practice safe social media habits. In a visit with the Play and Learning Lab, youth tried out actual games and toys that the researchers use in their studies with parents and children. Other workshop features included “speed mentoring” from Cornell students, participating in a focus group, and conducting a semi-structured interview with a local elder for career advice.

When asked about the workshop, one 4-H youth said that their favorite aspect of the workshop was the “interviewing and being able to learn more about what I’m interested in.” Other students commented that they enjoyed being able to meet new people and described their chance to connect with local elders and Cornell students as an “awesome opportunity.”