Please register here for the Campus County Connection Presentation on January 22, 2026.

“Preparing Teens to be Researchers: A PRYDE-CCE partnership in Action”

This session will highlight Youth Investigators, a curriculum developed by CHE’s Program for Research on Youth Development & Engagement (PRYDE) to introduce teens to the skills and tools used by social science researchers. Kristen Elmore, Director of PRYDE, will share how this project emerged in response to county-based 4-H educators’ interest in incorporating youth voice more systematically into campus–county research partnerships.

Developed in collaboration with educators and Cornell undergraduates, the curriculum engages youth in social science literacy, research methods, and ethical considerations, while positioning them as contributors to knowledge about their own communities. In partnership with Kristin Ruggiero, 4-H Resource Educator at CCE Rockland County, Youth Investigators has reached over 60 4-H youth and has led to a multi-year, youth-centered research summit hosted on campus.

Presenters will reflect on factors that have supported this partnership’s success, share lessons learned, and discuss opportunities for Extension professionals interested in youth-led inquiry and sustainable campus–county collaboration.

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Thank you for registering to attend. If you are attending in person, the location is currently Mann 100. If you are attending in zoom, the zoom link is https://reg.cce.cornell.edu/CC2026Jan_200.