Non Technical Summary
This project will directly work to increase youth awareness to expose students in grades 11 and 12 to provide education and career opportunities in food animal medicine. This project will provide education and extension, including hands on experiential in person exposure to careers in areas such as veterinary care for food animals, regulatory, and for students to have exposure to different areas of food animal medicine. The Texas A&M AgriLifeExtension Veterinary Science Certificate Program(VSCP) will work to collaborate with key school personnel, homeschool organization and parents, as well as 4H/FFA members to provide education for students in areas that show interest in veterinary education and pursuing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. 11th and 12th grade students who meet the criteria of pursuing education, experiences and coursework at the high school level and/or have desires to careers in food animal medicine will have access to the 5 events yearly to expose them to specific experiences such as poultry or regulatory careers. These courses are designed for student hands on learning and administered by VSCP Program Staff. Students will attend and have access to various day short courses throughout the school year. Each course will exhibit and highlight both successful individuals in the current field but also the education needed to pursue as a career. Students will be tracked by VSCP Program Staff after high school to document student choices. These courses are designed to promote and provide recruitment for each respective field/area of food animal medicine.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
806	3399	3020	30%
806	3260	3020	30%
806	3499	3020	30%
806	3599	3020	10%

Knowledge Area
806 - Youth Development;

Subject Of Investigation
3499 - Dairy cattle, general/other; 3260 - Poultry meat; 3599 - Swine, general/other; 3399 - Beef cattle, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Goals / Objectives
Develop relationships among education stakeholders to provide opportunity to students in grades 11 and 12 to provide education in the field of veterinary science in food animal medicine.Implement and strengthen the relationship with key stakeholders and current industry professionals in food animal medicine.Develop or expand the outreach of marketing and information specific to food animal medicine educational opportunities to focus specifically on 11 and 12 grade students for a career in veterinary medicine.Motivate participants by providing opportunity and experiences to students via hands on, in person events at no cost to the student, parent or school system.

Project Methods
The project coordination team will implement 4 objectives to fulfill the objectives of the funding opportunity announcement (FOA). Subsequent activities/milestones under each objective will be performed by the project coordination team members and subject matter expert consultants. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, as lead of the project coordination team, will provide project oversight utilizing project management principles among all activities within each and provide USDA-NIFA with all deliverables on behalf of the project coordination team.