Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The traditional Twilight Parade capped off the first day of the Illinois State Fair Thursday.

Illinois 4-H-ers are grand marshals at the fair, but the marshal among marshals was Avani Rai (pictured, second from right), who is about to be a sophomore at Harvard.

She says 4-H has made a big difference in her life.

“I got introduced to 4-H through a Lego robotics club at my elementary school when I was ten years old, and, to me, robotics at the time was like Legos and magic, so of course I wanted to take part, and thru that experience, I got involved with public speaking and leadership, came back to mentor the club the following year and then got involved with a food advocacy team as a healthy living ambassador as an eighth grader and ninth grader, and eventually worked my way up, serving different organizations, specifically focusing on food advocacy and health living. I think the coolest thing I got to do was speak at a White House conference on hunger, nutrition, and health when I was a senior in high school. That was amazing opportunity 4-H gave me, and I had an opportunity to close out that conference, representing six million 4-H-ers as a young changemaker on that stage, so that was really incredible.”

The parade marched down Sangamon Avenue from Lincoln Park to the