Every year at the Ohio State Fair, thousands of hopeful 4-H members travel to Columbus with their projects in tow, all for the chance to earn one of those coveted clock trophies. And with just one clock trophy available for each project class, it goes without saying that the competition is stiff.
Aubrey Barger, a 4-H member from Licking County, is all too familiar with the competitive nature of the Ohio State Fair. Over the years, she has completed projects in interest areas ranging from food and nutrition and clothing to STEM, 
leadership, and shooting sports, and having been selected to participate at the State Fair for eight of her nine years as a 4-H member, Barger knows exactly how much work goes into a 4-H project.
“Before this year, I’d been to the State Fair for seven years in a row with food and nutrition projects, but I guess I never struck gold there,” said Barger. In her later years as a 4-H member, Barger found more success with leadership
projects as she earned two Outstanding of the Day ribbons, but the clock trophy continued to elude her.
However, everything changed when Barger was introduced to archery. “When I first learned to shoot at Ohio 4-H State Leadership Camp in 2021, it sparked a passion in me, and I thought it was something I might like to pick up as a hobby,” she said.
Barger quickly found mentors in Tim Beltz, her club advisor, and Terri Stowell, the archery instructor at Leadership Camp. “Tim taught me a lot about how to be confident and safe on the range, and working closely with Terri really helped me grow as a teacher.”
Headed into the Ohio State Fair once again with a top-notch archery project in 
hand, Barger knew this was it. “Last year was the first time I’d taken an archery project to the State Fair, and I received an Outstanding of the Day award, but I knew this was my last chance to win a clock trophy,” she said.
During the awards program later that evening, Barger was announced 
as the clock trophy winner of the senior class for the Archery project and her excitement could not be contained.
“After nine years, my 4-H journey was coming to an end and winning the clock trophy felt like a perfect culmination of all the hard work and dedication I’ve put in over the years,” said Barger. “As much as a trophy isn’t everything, it means a lot to me, and it makes everything feel a bit more real. It was also an important moment for me to stop and look back on every step I’ve taken to get here, as well as everyone who’s been there to support me.”
As Barger prepares for her second year as a computer science and engineering student at The Ohio State University, she knows the lessons and skills she has learned through 4-H will continue to help her succeed.
“The STEM and leadership projects I’ve taken will tie directly into my future, but it’s also been fun to relate my archery project to what I’m currently studying by investigating the physics of archery,” she said. “Engineering is one of those things that can really be tied into anything if you want to see how it works, and so it almost felt natural to combine it with my archery project, which is so deeply rooted in science.”
For any current 4-H members who may relate to Barger’s experiences at the Ohio State Fair, her biggest piece of advice is to never give up. “If I would’ve gotten discouraged after going to the State Fair for seven years and never getting the clock trophy, I wouldn’t have come back for an eighth year and won!”