The 2015 Class of Ag Discovery at the University of Maryland.
Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
What do a biotechnologist, a dietician, a resource conservationist and a veterinary scientist all have in common? They’re all professions within the U.S. agricultural sector, which currently has nearly twice as many job openings as qualified applicants to fill them, according to the USDA.
However, for a group of high school students participating in a unique summer program called Ag Discovery at the University of Maryland, picking just one career path to pursue in agriculture might prove the hardest part.
For the past ten years, UMD’s College of Agriculture & Natural Resources (AGNR) has partnered with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), to bring Ag Discovery to College Park. The program is designed to expose high school students to the wealth of careers available in fields related to agriculture, food, natural resources and the environment. Students from across the country apply to participate in the intense, three-week program funded by USDA APHIS that offers three college-level credits upon completion. Sixteen high school students from seven states and Canada were selected this year to participate.
“Ag Discovery is three weeks of learning about plants and animals, the importance of protecting America’s food supply, the role of regulation in genetically engineered organisms, and the challenge of managing and resolving wildlife conflicts,” said Evelyn Cooper, PhD, Acting Associate Dean of Academic Programs for the College of AGNR. “Ag Discovery not only helps youth learn about careers related to agricultural science, but also what it takes to academically prepare.”
Throughout the three weeks, the teens travel all over the Washington, D.C. region for fieldtrips and activities. This year, students visited the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Dupont Research Laboratory, USDA Headquarters, the Senate Chambers on Capitol Hill, as well as the National Zoo.
“It was a really great experience. I learned a lot about all the different careers you can go into in agriculture,” said Jane Yao, a rising junior from Ontario, Canada interested in veterinary medicine. “It’s not just about farming, which everybody thinks it is, but there are so many different things – you can work in government, do research, there’s just so much stuff.”
Additionally, students interact with AGNR faculty and staff in workshops, seminars and classes on campus. For example, the group spent some time on the university’s Campus Farm where they were able to actually feel the inside of a cow’s stomach through a small opening called a fistula.
“It was smelly and warm and when the stomach contracted it was really a bizarre feeling but it was cool,” said Caroline May, a rising senior from Exton, PA considering a major in nutrition and dietetics at the college level.
This emphasis on hands-on experiences across a variety of subject areas related to agriculture is meant to ignite a fire within the Ag Discovery students that will hopefully help them hone in on a field of study as they prepare to apply to colleges.
“I’ll take back with me all of these unique experiences,” said Aaron Park, a rising junior from Columbia, MD interested in organic chemistry. “I used to be a plant nerd when I was younger but it kinda died out and now I’ve kind of revived that passion.”
For many students, choosing just one favorite experience from Ag Discovery was difficult and choosing a college major might be even more challenging. Rising junior Cheyanne Rosier of Bowie, MD, whose interests have ranged in the past from zoology to engineering to biotechnology, is now considering veterinary medicine as a result of the program.
“It’s helping me narrow down my field… but it’s like I can do pretty much anything and still be in agriculture,” said Rosier. “That’s pretty awesome.”
