Nearly 80 Des Moines multicultural students and school staff members participated in the first Polk County 4-H RISE College Access Conference held Tuesday at Grand View University. The event is designed to introduce 4-H to underrepresented youths from four Des Moines schools — Harding and Hiatt middle schools and East and North high schools. Sponsored by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Polk County, the daylong event included several breakout sessions focused on leadership development, team-building and college and career exploration. Students attending the RISE Conference had the opportunity to listen to several speakers discussing the importance of college and career readiness. To learn more about the youth development programming conducted by Polk County 4-H, click here.