4-H Tech Changemakers lead the way in artificial intelligence
For Montgomery County’s Evelyn Zachary and Kylee Reeves, learning and teaching digital technology has been a central part of their 4-H experience.
They’re both members of the 4-H Tech Changemakers team, a nationwide initiative empowering young people to be digital educators in their communities, helping others build confidence in skills ranging from email etiquette to artificial intelligence.
Tech Changemakers is at the heart of Purdue Extension’s 4-H Youth Development mission: preparing teens for personal and professional success through hands-on learning in STEM, leadership and civic engagement.
Zachary helped launch the Montgomery County 4-H Tech Changemakers in 2022, and Reeves joined shortly after. Under the guidance of 4-H educator Abby Morgan, the group has grown from four students to a team of seven. National 4-H Council provided grant support to get the program off the ground.
The 4-H’ers teach digital literacy workshops for audiences that include retired teachers, the local Kiwanis Club and younger peers. They even led a statewide training in Indianapolis, helping 4-H groups from other counties start their own Tech Changemakers teams.
In January 2025, Reeves and two teammates participated in an intensive artificial intelligence (AI) workshop hosted by Purdue Extension’s Rachel Haselby, a 4-H youth development computer science specialist. They learned how to use and teach AI tools responsibly and helped refine curriculum now used across Indiana.
“AI is becoming omnipresent in our society,” Zachary says.
As a way to reach a broader audience, the team developed “Five Minute Fridays,” a YouTube series breaking down digital concepts into short, accessible videos. Their lessons help peers and adults alike understand how to use technology with purpose and responsibility.
Creating these videos requires research and teamwork. By helping teens build digital skills and understand AI, Purdue Extension supports workforce readiness and develops confident community leaders.
“You learn so much more than can fit into a five-minute presentation,” Reeves says. “One of our most important goals was to help people understand how to use AI — and technology in general — safely and ethically.”
The program’s benefits go far beyond tech skills for Zachary and Reeves, both 10-year 4-H members. All they’ve learned will serve them well as they head off to college and into their future careers.
“I’ve grown so much in my self-confidence and my ability to teach others,” says Reeves, who will study nursing. “I’ve learned how to be independent and also work in a group, stepping up when other people need me.”
Zachary, who will be in a media fellows program, says, “Tech Changemakers gave us so many opportunities to lead. I think everyone should be in something like this. It’s been an amazing experience.”
Tech Changemakers gives Indiana’s young people the tools they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world. By equipping them to share their knowledge beyond their own community, this program expands digital access and confidence for participants of all ages, multiplying its impact and ensuring that more Indiana residents can thrive in a technology-driven world.
And now that ethical AI use is allowed under official 4-H guidelines, even more activities might be powered by the very technology these youth are helping others understand.
I think everyone should be in a program like Tech Changemakers because the things we’ve learned have been indispensable."
- Evelyn Zachary
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