Blake Peters Attends AgDiscovery Program at Iowa State University
by Michelle Kelley
Patrick ‘Blake’ Peters of Braymer, Missouri, spent two weeks at the first AgDiscovery program held at Iowa State University this summer. He was one of 12 high school students selected from >60 applicants from around the country who applied to the program.
Congratulations, Blake!
AgDiscovery is an outreach program to help teenagers learn about careers in plant and animal science and wildlife management. The program allows students to live on a college campus and learn about agriculture from university professors and scientists in a variety of fields. The focus of ISU’s AgDiscovery program was animal science, veterinary science and wildlife ecology. Students learned about the interconnection between wildlife biology and conservation, laboratory technology and diagnostics, animal science and veterinary medicine. Participants spent two weeks living at Eaton Hall on ISU’s campus, and visited facilities including Great Ape Trust, Blank Park Zoo, ARKO laboratories, ISU’s Dairy, Poultry, Swine and Horticulture Farms, USDA’s National Center for Animal Health, and USDA Wildlife Services at Des Moines International Airport. Students got “hands on” experience in bacteriology, hematology, embryology, dissections, and other veterinary diagnostic procedures. Students also participated in diversity, character- and team-building activities.
ISU is one of ten universities who participated in Ag Discovery in 2010. Each university’s AgDiscovery program focuses on a specific area of interest to our nation’s agriculture, such as plant health, entomology, veterinary science, animal care, biotechnology, and agribusiness. AgDiscovery is a unique opportunity for students to gain a first-hand look at the many career paths open to them in the agricultural sciences.
To learn more about the AgDiscovery program contact Ms. Terry Henson or Ms. Beatrice Jacobs of the USDA-APHIS Office of the Administrator, (301) 734-6312, terry.a.henson@aphis.usda.gov or Beatrice.f.jacobs@aphis.usda.gov.
