College and Career Readiness

Students gain skills while supporting watershed projects

Across Jackson County and much of Oregon, restoration and conservation projects often outpace the funding and staff capacity needed to monitor them. At the same time, high school students beginning to consider their future career ...

Apr 2026 | Impact Story

OSU field courses bolster rangeland workforce

The sagebrush biome is the largest native ecosystem in North America and one of the most at risk. Altered fire regimes, expanding juniper and invasive annual grasses have made management more difficult across Oregon and the ...

Mar 2026 | Impact Story

4-H partnership builds employability skills with Training for Teens

Research shows that Oregon needs workforce development strategies for youths. According to the 2020 Oregon Workforce and Talent Board report on essential employability skills, youths need soft skills to help them succeed as employees...

Oct 2025 | Impact Story

Portland teens lead, inspire and grow through 4-H Teens as Teachers

4-H is the largest out-of-school youth program in the United States and the only nationwide youth organization administered through land grant universities. In Oregon, 4-H is affiliated with Oregon State University. 4-H Youth ...

Mar 2025 | Impact Story

Adulting 101 helps Oregon teens build life skills and community

The Oregon State University Extension Service 4-H Youth Development Program serves nearly 25,000 youths statewide, giving young people hands-on learning opportunities in every part of the state. In Lane County, Extension 4-H staff ...

Mar 2025 | Impact Story

Virtual Canopy enhances forestry safety and sparks youths’ career interest

Oregon’s forest sector is a vital part of the state’s economy and communities. It ranks third in Oregon’s gross domestic product, producing 28% of the nation’s plywood and 16.5% of U.S. lumber. But the industry faces ...

Feb 2025 | Impact Story

Juntos opens pathways to higher education and opportunity for Latino families in Oregon

Latino students make up nearly 25% of Oregon’s K–12 public school population yet face persistent barriers to college access. Nationally, only 58% of Hispanic high school completers enrolled in college immediately in 2022 and ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

YOSÉ provides nature experiences, education for Portland-area youth

Research shows that people of color are far less likely to engage in nature-based outdoor recreation activities, with historic discrimination being a large underlying factor. People of color are three times more likely than white ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

Support from OSU Open Campus eases student transfers

Research shows that while 80% of community college students intend to earn a bachelor’s degree, only 25% transfer to a four-year college within five years — and just 17% earn a bachelor’s degree within six years of ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

Malheur Works connects youths to careers in rural Oregon

Malheur County, along Oregon’s eastern border with Idaho, is known for its vast high-desert landscape and agricultural heritage. But it also faces deep economic challenges. With the second-highest child poverty rate in Oregon — ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story