SIDNEY – Cassaundra “Cassie” Dietrich, born and raised in Urbana, is the new 4-H Educator at OSU Extension Shelby County.
Dietrich gained experience in a variety of projects during her time as a first-generation 4-H youth. Throughout her 11 years in the program, she showed rabbits, horses, a scramble hog, her mixed-breed dog and a market goat at the Champaign County Fair. She also completed several non-livestock projects, including cake decorating, creative writing, food science, fine arts, and fashion.
She traveled to the Ohio State Fair to compete a number of times and was crowned the Champaign County Fair Queen in 2006. She was involved in Junior Fair Board and served as a 4-H Camp Counselor every year she was able.
After developing a passion for agriculture, fair and education during her youth, she decided to study agricultural communications and animal science in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Science at The Ohio State University. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2009 and went on to work in a handful of professional capacities, including marketing, communications and graphic design. After a stint of living in Rome, Georgia, she and her husband, Bud, returned to their hometown of Urbana, where they currently live with their two children, Gavin, 6, and Eloise, 4.
After encouragement from her undergraduate educators, Dietrich returned to Ohio State in 2014 to get her master’s degree in agriculture and extension education. While studying for her master’s, she focused her research on understanding consumers’ attitudes toward modern agriculture practices (such as cage systems, confined animal feeding operations, vaccine and antibiotic use in production animals, and more). She has also spent a great deal of time trying to understand how particular organizations can strengthen their relationships with target audiences through more effective forms of communication.
She graduated in May of 2016 and stayed at Ohio State, accepting a position in the College of Education and Human Ecology as a graphic designer and event planner for the fundraising unit.
In her “free” time, Dietrich likes to go to sporting events and be active outside. Her son, Gavin, plays ice hockey, so following the Columbus Blue Jackets has become a new trend in her house. And, of course, she’s a huge Buckeyes fan. She’s also involved in the Urbana Youth Sports organization. She is secretary on the board and directs the spring baseball and softball programs.
She currently has 11 laying hens, a Nigerian Dwarf goat, a yellow lab, a yorkie-poodle mix and a guinea pig.
While she has enjoyed her time at the College of Education and Human Ecology, she said she misses what she has been most passionate about: Agriculture, rural communities and youth education. She said she’s excited to take on her new role as 4-H Extension Educator in Shelby County and is looking forward to seeing many news faces over the course of the next several months. She is especially excited about camp, fair, and getting more diverse youth and first-generation 4-H’ers involved in the 4-H program.
