“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is often the first thought-provoking question that prompts many people to take a moment and reflect on who or what they could become.
But what if no one ever asked?
Being able to dream about a future and imagining how to achieve a goal is a privilege.
Solomon Garner, an Ohio State University Extension educator, said he never dreamt of being in the position he is in now.
Garner, who grew up in the Hilltop community of Columbus, Ohio, said he understands the pain and adversity of living in a resource-limited area. He said that the struggle was especially evident in food insecurity and its domino effect of related issues.
“I’m going to be honest,” Garner said. “Personally, I feel like the Hilltop is one of those forgotten areas when it comes to our neighborhoods and sides of town.”
Growing up, Garner said he and his family relied on a variety of food pantries to meet basic needs. Even now, when he visits home, he said only one or two grocery stores are within an accessible distance.
According to Garner, reinvestment initiatives are underway, but the larger efforts go into surrounding neighborhoods and not necessarily the Hilltop itself.
“Lowkey, it is a food desert,” Garner said. “There’s not really access to good, nutritious, healthy food.”
With the hardships he has experienced and the struggles he witnesses his community go through, Garner does not let these experiences bring him down.
Instead, he said he uses them as fuel to fulfill his childhood dream of, “becoming successful in creating a better space, so other people don’t have to go through the things I went through or feel the things that I felt.”
Garner had no idea what attaining that dream actually looked like, though.
When studying at Ohio State, Garner said attending his classes felt very unfamiliar because he did not come from an agricultural background.
“I didn’t have any connection to FFA, no connection to 4-H,” Garner said. “Coming from the west side of town, we don’t even have grassland – it's just concrete.”
Yet, the more he progressed in his degree of community leadership and youth development, Garner said the more he realized he was exactly where he needed to be.
While earning his degree, Garner also taught leadership curriculum at the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Facility.
During his conversations with the youth, Garner said topics often turned towards how they could apply the tools they were learning once they got home. Or, if they couldn’t go home, how the skills could be applied as self-care techniques.
Garner said this is when he saw a mirror between what he was learning at Ohio State and the work he was doing with youth at the detention facility.
“The same way you have to nurture plants, you have to nurture yourself,” Garner said. “That means putting yourself in environments that are going to help you to grow into who you want to be.”
During his time as a graduate student, Garner worked in an associateship with Ohio State Extension’s Strategic Initiatives in Urban Engagement program. One day, when attending a conference, Garner said he happened to be at the right table, at the right time.
His childhood dream and unforeseen future were about to align.
When Franklin County commissioner Erica Crawley proposed an outline for her idea to introduce inner-city and urban youth to the realm of agriculture, Garner immediately locked in.
“I was impressed with him and his interest,” Crawley said. “He seemed really excited about this opportunity and having this type of initiative be available for students.”
With Crawley’s vision and Garner’s enthusiasm, Urban R.O.O.T.S (Reshaping Outreach Opportunities Through Self-Discovery), was suddenly created.
Drawing from previous experiences with a variety of youth development programs, Garner said a lot of them offer the same curriculum, just in slightly different manners.
When creating lesson plans and guidelines for Urban R.O.O.T.S., Garner wanted to establish something completely different. Something where he could truly make an impact on young people’s lives.
As a 4-H agricultural exploration program directed towards 8th graders, Urban R.O.O.T.S. interactively introduces urban youth to agriculture by way of classroom lessons and games, and workshops at the Waterman Franklin County Extension Building.
Through this initiative, students are challenged to see agriculture as more than just “cows and plows,” Crawley said. They have the opportunity to explore a variety of agricultural careers in fields such as technology, economics, engineering, science and sustainability.
However, during its infancy stages, Urban R.O.O.T.S. faced an accessibility barrier. Crawley said there was little student engagement because people were unaware that the program existed.
It wasn’t until Garner proposed the idea of meeting students within their own communities that the program began to take off.
“It was Solomon who wanted to go into the schools and work directly with the students,” Crawley said. “That leadership in being able to pivot, to bring this learning into the classrooms, gave more students exposure.”
Even though the program is only in its second year, Crawley said she sees the impact it has on the Franklin County community, even making impressions on students’ parents.
One moment that sticks out to Crawley, is from this past summer, when a mother mentioned that she hadn’t seen her son this excited about something in long time
Crawley said hearing comments like this, witnessing students from different areas interact with each other and gaining exposure to new opportunities, reassures her that this program is making a difference.
Lindsey Latscha, Franklin County Area Leader, who has worked with Garner on Urban R.O.O.T.S. since its introduction, shares a similar outlook.
“I first met Solomon when he was a grad research assistant,” Latscha said. “The plan was not for him to run the program.”
The more control Garner was given over the program though, Latscha said the more positive impact and growth in Urban R.O.O.T.S. she saw.
She commends Garner’s impact to his personability with children and teachers, his use of community and his ability to utilize existing resources.
“Getting kids to participate in after-school programs like this can be hard,” Latscha said. “Families have commitments – work schedules, transportation interferences, sports and maybe other children.”
By meeting students in their classrooms during scheduled periods or at community libraries after school, Garner has helped the program grow from a proposed goal of reaching 40 children a year, to now reaching 130.
As Urban R.O.O.T.S continues to evolve, Latscha said watching Garner grow into himself, from an ambitious grad student to a full-time 4-H Extension Educator, has helped her understand how a program like Urban R.O.O.T.S can transform someone’s life.
“To see the change, to see these kids have experiences they otherwise may not have,” Latscha said. “I’m inspired to be there when kids are finally asked what they want to be when they grow up.”