Hi! My name is Rebecca (Becki) Ries. I am a member of 4-H House’s 2017 pledge class, but I graduated from U of I in 2016 with a degree in Animal Sciences. I grew up in Waterloo, IL on a small hobby farm. While in 4-H House, I served as the Philanthropy Chair, Brother’s Weekend Chair, and Risk Chair. On campus, I was very active with ACES Council, serving as President my junior/senior year. I was also the President of a club for international students called English Corner for two years.
After graduation, I received a poultry certification from the Midwest Poultry Consortium’s Center of Excellence Program hosted at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. With the poultry certification, I moved to Kentucky to work in a management training position with Pilgrim’s. From there I became the Human Resources Supervisor. This past summer, I moved back to the Champaign-Urbana area and took a job at the Champaign County Humane Society as their Events & Marketing Coordinator. I’ve now been there for almost 8 months, and I love being able to help the animals at CCHS find new homes!
Since coming back to the area, I have been wanting to get involved with 4-H House again, so I’m very excited to officially be on the board and start this journey! I am currently working on the 85th Anniversary Celebration Committee, and I hope you can all attend the fun events that we are planning. I am also a member of the Champaign Rotary Club, and I am a sponsor of Centennial High School’s Interact Club. I enjoy spending time in the outdoors with my boyfriend, hanging out with my friends and family, and cuddling with my cats.
Some of my favorite memories are from my time in the house – like doing handstands in the hallways! 4-H House introduced me to some of my best friends and for that I am forever grateful! My advice to current members of the house is to soak it all in and enjoy. Your time there will be over before you know it, but the memories and friends that you make will last a lifetime!
