MSU Extension 4-H

Michigan 4-H Member’s Personal Portfolio: Instructions and Guide for 4-H Members and Leaders

The Michigan 4-H Member’s Personal Portfolio was originally published in 2016 and updated in 2022.

The Michigan 4-H Member’s Personal Portfolio is designed to help 4-H members keep track of all of the things they’ve done and learned in 4-H over the course of their 4-H careers. We encourage you to use it at your own pace and complete as many pages as possible (but don’t worry, you’re not required to complete every page every year).

Plan to add to your portfolio every year you’re in 4-H so you can capture your progress in learning, developing, and setting and achieving your goals. Complete a new copy of each page each year or for each 4-H experience in which you participate. If you keep a copy of the pages that you complete each year, you’ll wind up with a cumulative portfolio of your 4-H career.

You’ll see suggestions throughout the portfolio that will guide you to pages for specific types of activities or events. These pages will allow you to capture more detailed information.

Note to 4-H Volunteers & Event Organizers

Consider supplying copies of the appropriate pages of this portfolio at each 4-H meeting, activity or event so that the participants can record what they did and learned and whom they worked with or met at the event. Doing so at the event will increase the accuracy and completeness of the information and will help them develop good recordkeeping habits.

How to Use the Michigan 4-H Member’s Personal Portfolio

Purchase or download a copy of the Michigan 4-H Member’s Personal Portfolio. The document is designed so that you can complete a copy of each individual section separately. You need use only the pages that pertain to your experience. Complete the pages in the fillable PDF format and save it electronically, or print it out, complete it by hand and store it in a safe location.

All 4-H members should have a record of their 4-H experiences, but it’s understandable that you may have a different level of interest in recordkeeping than other members.

Complete “Snapshot of My 4-H Year” on page 9 at the beginning of your experience for the year. Then update it throughout the year. The snapshot also includes checklists to keep track of your 4-H projects, events, activities and core values as well as a section to record your future goals.

Then, advance to the next engagement level by completing the snapshot pages related to your 4-H experiences. These pages capture basic information about what you did. These are one-page snapshots including:

• Snapshot of My 4-H Goals
• Snapshot of My 4-H Education
• Snapshot of My 4-H Achievements
• Snapshot of My 4-H Community Service
• Snapshot of My 4-H Network
• Snapshot of My 4-H Participation

Next, record in-depth, detailed information about what you experienced and learned as well as skills you have developed from your 4-H experiences in the “My 4-H” pages. Complete as many or as few pages as you wish from each section. The pages marked with an asterisk (*) have boxes near the top headed “Before You Start.” Be sure to fill in the information in those boxes before you participate in the 4-H experience you’ll write about on that page. You can answer the rest of the questions after the activity. These documents include:

• My 4-H Club or Group and Committee Pages
• My 4-H Network Pages
• My 4-H Project Pages*
• My 4-H Education Pages*
• My 4-H Activity Pages*
• My 4-H Event Pages*
• My 4-H Community Service Pages
• My 4-H Leadership Pages*
• My 4-H Educational Contest Pages*

“My 4-H Year in Review” is provided for three age groups (9–11, 12–14 and 15–19). Complete these pages under the appropriate age group at the end of each 4-H year to reflect on your accomplishments and set future goals. These pages include:

• My 4-H Year in Review: 9- to 11-Year-Olds
• My 4-H Year in Review: 12- to 14-Year-Olds
• My 4-H Year in Review: 15- to 19-Year-Olds