Trip to ISU Opens Middle School Students Eyes to Career Opportunities
Adair County Middle School students learned more about careers in agricultural and life science during a day-long workshop held at Iowa State University. Students participated in hands-on workshops in the microbiology and agricultural engineering labs and toured the meat lab and the beef and poultry farms as part of a career adventure trip organized by the Nodaway Valley AmeriCorps program and Adair County Extension. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences organized the workshops and hosted the event.
Watching hog dogs being made in the Meat Laboratory was a highlight for Jacob Connolly of Orient and Matthew Noland of Adair while Zach Plymesser of Greenfield and Joey Huntington of Orient were most intrigued with the techniques to extract DNA as part of the microbiology crime scene investigation lab. Regardless of their favorite workshops the students left the campus with an understanding of the importance of taking science and math classes in school and being involved in extra-curricular activities that allow them to explore and develop skills related to their career interest.
Students participating in the day included: Craig Sackett, Nolan Dodson, Nolan Daugherty, Zach Plymesser, Sydney Reeves, Alexis Sheriff, T J Bower, Tyler Ford, Delson Grantham, and Jennifer Lundy from Nodaway Valley Middle School; Matthew Noland, Bryan Nosbisch, and Beth Lundy from Adair-Casey Schools; Megan Newton from West Central Valley; and Sarah Albee, Jacob Caviness, Jacob Connolly, Emily Huntington, Joey Huntington, Gabby Jenkins, Harper Spurrier, Morgan Spurrier, and Jordan Thompson from Orient-Macksburg Schools.
The group was accompanied by AmeriCorps members Lynn Frank and Kelsie Cass; Adair County Extension Program Assistant, Donna Wallace, and O-M teacher, Bill Huntington.
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Adair County Extension
3/27/2009