Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Ag Career Expo 2012



The Ag Career Expo is a day devoted to agricultural education. Its purpose is to give high school juniors and seniors insight on the opportunities within the agricultural industry. Students from Meadow and Brownfield got the chance to learn about agricultural programs in local universities, as well as career opportunities in the ag field.

Going on its second year, ACE is hosted by the Terry County Extension office in collaboration with ag organizations around the county. With a line up of eight universities and eight career break out sessions, students received a well-rounded look into the agricultural industry.

The colleges and universities in attendance were Texas Tech University, West Texas A&M University, Angelo State University, South Plains College, Sul Ross State University, Clarendon College, New Mexico Junior College and WorkForce, which is a job placement program for high school graduates.

Speakers and sessions included:
Minority opportunities- Henry Castillo, Ag Texas
Ag Education- Dr. Lance Keith, West Texas A&M
Ag Technology- Michael Clawson, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension
Resource Management- Kegan Crouch & Greg Lindsey, USDA-NRCS
Science and Research- Brent Besler, Syngenta
Ag Communications- Samantha Borgstedt, Texas Alliance for Water Conservation
Trade Skills/Trade School- Raymond Elizondo & Pete Stracener, SPC Industrial Manufacturing and Industrial Technology Departments
Ag Business- Jason Swan, Capital Farm Credit

A portion of the program also covered scholarship opportunities, both locally and statewide. The key take away with scholarships is they are out there and very attainable for applicants who put forth the effort.

Overall, the day was productive and important for the agricultural industry. Students learned about opportunities some never knew existed, while others learned more about their current interests. Thank you to  Brownfield High School for being a great host and for making this event as successful as it was! We all look forward to the program next year.

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