Source: ADAMS STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
HSI EDUCATION PROGRAM: EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE AND FOOD STUDIES AT ADAMS STATE UNIVERSITY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1026604
Grant No.
2021-77040-34882
Cumulative Award Amt.
$274,986.00
Proposal No.
2021-03404
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2021
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2025
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[NJ]- Hispanic Serving Institutions Education Grants Program
Recipient Organization
ADAMS STATE UNIVERSITY
208 EDGEMONT BLVD
ALAMOSA,CO 811012320
Performing Department
School of Business
Non Technical Summary
With support from the USDA/NIFA Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Education Grant Program, Adams State University, Colorado's premiere HSI, will build its capacity to develop a skilled workforce in food and agriculture to meet the growing agricultural industry needs of southern Colorado's San Luis Valley (SLV), which struggles with low educational attainment, high poverty rates, and inequities in workforce development. Approximately 46% of the SLV population is Hispanic. Adams State will expand its enrollments, increase retention and graduation rates, and advance equity in education in 3 food and agriculture bachelor degree programs: Business Administration (Agribusiness emphasis), General Agriculture (Agricultural Business or Agricultural Biology emphasis), and Food Studies. Aligned with the 4 HSI Education Goals, the project focuses on the Educational Need Areas of Student Experiential Learning and Student Recruitment and Retention to attract and support diverse undergraduate students in these degree areas. An innovative paid internship program, with an evidence-based structure, and industry partners will provide vital work-based learning experiences and develop students' essential employment skills. Regional recruitment and retention strategies, including a student-led conference, an annual scholarship, and mentoring will reduce barriers for underrepresented studentsand promote leadership and their preparation for public and private sector careers.Project objectives focus on increasing combined degree enrollments to 50 students over 4 years, with at least 23 students (46%) from underrepresented groups, and increasing first-time full-time retention rates of underrepresented students to at least 62%. Quantitative data will be collected via institutional review of student enrollments, retention, and graduation dataeach year. In addition, annual surveys and focus groups among students, project staff, and employers/community stakeholders will produce quantitative and qualitative data to document progress, inform program improvement, and support continuation. Student and faculty presentations at conferences attended by HSI educators and students, and regional agricultural conferences, will share project findings on the effectiveness of the outreach/ recruitment and retention strategies implemented by ASU towards increasing the enrollment and success rates of Hispanic and other students underrepresented in FANH disciplines. By building Adams State's capacity to develop and maintain an enhanced recruitment and retention program in agriculture and food studies, USDA/NIFA support will strengthen Adams State's network of relationships with educational and industry partnersto grow a skilled workforce in response to local industry needs and to retaintalent and young people in rewarding employment and careersacross this remote, rural region.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
60%
Applied
40%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90360303020100%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6030 - The farm as an enterprise;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The HSI Education Program priority of preparing and supporting underrepresented groups to enter careers in the FANH sciences aligns well with ASU's commitment as an HSI and the institution's driving purpose, "to provide equitable access to education for all.... Adams State University draws on its rural location in the San Luis Valley, to serve and empower all students, especially those from historically underserved populations." By focusing efforts on HSI Program Educational Need Areas of Student Experiential Learning and Student Recruitment and Retention to support ASU's diverse students in curricular and co-curricular programs centered on food, agribusiness, and agricultural studies, ASU will expand and improve the quality of postsecondary education in these degree areas via an innovative paid internship program, a student-led food and agriculture conference, development of a collaborative network of industry partners, and targeted outreach and recruitment. Project strategies focus on attracting and supporting students from underrepresented groups to promote their preparation for and access to careers in the public and private sectors in these disciplines. Partnerships within the strong SLV agricultural community will support students' academic growth and workforce skill development towards degree completion and career attainment. Improving pathways into agriculture- and food-related careers will solidify ASU's role in responding to regional education and workforce needs in food and agriculture and fulfillment of the university's mission and strategic goals.
Project Methods
Project efforts focus on recruitment for ASU's 3 FANH degree programs and outreach to students across the San Luis Valley and rural southern Colorado, where nearly half the population is Hispanic and the poorest counties in the state are located, and also on retaining those students as successful FANH majors to degree completion. A brief outline of the efforts is described below:Recruitment/Outreach Plan: To address challenges in student recruitment, ASU will develop a robust outreach program with the 14 SLV school districts and4 community colleges in the rural southern Colorado. The 2 coordinators will work with ASU admissions recruiters, FANH majors, high school counselors and teachers, FFA/4H advisors, and community college agricultural programs, to conduct targeted outreach across the region. COVID restrictions may require a virtual event format. Recruitment strategies include:Expand outreach activities (presentations, virtual follow-up contacts led by FANH majors) to strengthen relationships with regional high schools and groups such as FFA chapters and ASU's Upward Bound studentsand highlight the variety of paid internships and the student conference as part of FANH degree programs. Outreach to ASU campus groupswill increase awareness of FANH majors, careers, and associated experiential learning opportunities.Host an ASU student-led conference for high school students interested in agriculture-related topics, studies, and careers in Yrs. 2 and 4. Near-peer role models and industry speakers will heighten students' awareness of FANH studies, ASU internships, and diverse careers.Increase the number of FANH transfer students and articulation agreements with 2-year colleges in FANH programs. Expanded outreach will increase awareness of ASU's food and agriculture offerings including paid and credit-bearing work-based learning experiences.Retention Plan: Retention strategies, featuring aninternship program, focus on actively engaging students in career readiness and leadership opportunities that complement the curriculum in their chosen food/agriculture area.Career readiness and job skills embedded in the curriculum: Industry experience integrated within coursework builds job skills and career readiness, increases coursework relevance, and fuels student commitment to achieving their goals in the near term.Undergraduate research required within the curriculum deepens each student's exposure to real-world contexts, applies their knowledge to problem-solving, and develops their skills as researchersin agriculture and food studies coursework.ASU Student-led High School Conference: ASU students organize and lead events in Yrs. 2 and 4 to increase their confidence as leaders and achievers. Collaborative efforts strengthen students' relationships, sense of belonging, and ownership of their achievements. Early networking opportunities with ASU FANH majors help attract and retain high school students who may later attend ASU.Extracurricular/co-curricular club participation: Involvement in campus clubs specific to agriculture and resource management increases student engagement and motivation in their studies and promotes retention (e.g.,ASU Agribusiness Club, ASU Collegiate Farm Bureau Chapter,and associated state and national level collegiate competitions).Paid structured internship program in food and agriculture fields across the region.Annual scholarship for one underrepresented student over the 4-year grant period.Evaluation: Project evaluation will be conducted by Dr. Michael Martin, Associate Professor in Agricultural Education at Colorado State University-Fort Collins, in collaboration with the 2 coordinators.The external evaluator ensures the data collection instruments and analysis meet standards, are appropriate to the project's goals and objectives, and that evaluation processes support continuous program improvements to promote participant satisfaction and positive results. With ASU proposal's logic model as a guide and based on the project's objectives, the evaluator provides formative and summative analysis and assessment of progress data and products. Detailed reports will meet USDA/NIFA federal requirements. The coordinators and external evaluator review project data twice per year to ensure fidelity to the implementation plan, progress towards achievement of project goals and objectives (see below), and the evaluator's recommendations for improvement. The annual progress reports and final report contain results of evaluated metrics, products, outcomes, and impact data, including a student count by Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) code.The 4 measurable project objectives and annual milestonesare central to the project evaluation for monitoring progress and success:Objective 1: In 2021-25 ASU's FANH recruitment and outreach program increases full-time student enrollment in 3 FANH majors at ASU by 20% per year, over fall 2019 baseline of 24 students. 2025 target: 50 students. Freshmen and first-year community college transfer enrollments will grow by 20% annually, over fall 2019 baseline of 11. 2025 target: 23 students.Objective 2: In 2021-25 ASU's FANH recruitment and outreach program increases full-time enrollment of Hispanic and other ethnic/racially underrepresented students in 3 FANH majors at ASU by 30% per year, over fall 2019 baseline of 8. 2025 target: 23 students.Objective 3: In 2022-25, ASU's FANH internship program, embedded learning outcomes, and other retention efforts increase first-time full-time (FTFT) student retention in 3 FANH majors by 3% per year, over fall 2017-19 ASU 3-year baseline of 56% (3-yr avg). 2025 target: 63%.Objective 4: In 2022-25, ASU's FANH internship program, embedded learning outcomes, and other retention efforts increase Hispanic and underrepresented FTFT student retention in FANH majors by 3% per year, over fall 2017-19 ASU 3-year baseline of 55% (3-yr. avg.). 2025 target: 62%.In addition, the evaluation will also address the following questions to determine impact on the intended audience:Is the program on track to meet its stated goals and objectives?Have the problems or barriers to success been successfully identified?Are the solutions advancing program progress and moving students toward graduation?Do the project's recruitment and retention techniques influence the number of students (or underrepresented students) recruited and retained in comparison to techniques used prior?Do internships affect students' interest, engagement, or learning in the food/agriculture sciences?Have stakeholders continued to support the project and growth of FANH degree related programming?Quantitative data will be collected via institutional review of student enrollments, retention, graduation data, and post-graduation matriculation in graduate school, assisted by ASU's Office of Institutional Effectiveness, and via surveys to students and employers each year. In addition, annual surveys and focus groups among students, project staff, and employers/community stakeholders will produce quantitative and qualitative data to document progress, inform program improvement, and support continuation. Experiential learning data include number of opportunities (e.g., internships, research participation, extension activities), location type (e.g., business, non-profit, USDA), and products (presentations, webpages, presentations, publications) resulting from student experiences. Recruitment data include number and ethnicity/race of students contacted, recruited, and enrolled per year due to targeted programming. Retention data include number and ethnicity/race of students retained per year and number of advising, mentoring, and tutoring hours. Graduating students will complete an exit survey to monitor program effectiveness in promoting participating students to enter employment/careers or graduate school in FANH.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Early last fall ('23), I connected with Dr. Irma Lawrence and it was approved for us to offer internships for fall, spring, and summer semesters for the 2023-2024 academic year through the remainder of the grant (instead of only summer). So, I began sharing the expanded opportunity regularly in the agribusiness courses (Bus 364, n=7; Bus 478, n=7). Reilly Caldwell was hired, so both sheand I also solicited scholarship applications from students in the agribusiness and food studies courses. We were excited to see Jace and Xiomara benefit from the scholarship opportunity. Students from the ASU Agribusiness Club engaged with incoming students of all disciplines at the ASU Involvement Fair on Aug. 23 as campus began the 2023-2024 academic year. We also remain tightly engaged with the CAMP program on campusas the individuals serving as Club leaders also participate actively with the CAMP group as well.Students attended the Fall Festival at Cole Park Oct. 28 to network. I remain on Jack Wiley's advisory board (Trinidad State Community College) as we work to increase the number of students from his agriculture courses transferring to ASU to complete agribusiness and related degrees. ASU agribusiness students were more interested in talking about potential internships beginning in late fall '23 and this continued into spring '24. I taught Bus 364 Agribusiness Management (n=7) and Bus 478 Agricultural Marketing (n = 7) in the fall semester and Bus 398 Farm & Ranch Management (n = 8) and Bus 488 Agricultural Policy & Farm Bill (n = 7) in the spring semester, where we regularly had discussions and students appeared more willing to ask questions and engage. I continued my engagement with regional high school students at FFA, athletic, knowledge-bowl, and science fair events to share the internship opportunity as well as possibilities at ASU and with agribusiness, agriculture, and food studies. I was excited to see an increased number of students schedule meetings to organize an internship experiences for the summer. Reilly engaged in recruitment through sharing about the revamping of the Food Studies program. She shared information about the program and the internship opportunities available to students through the grant with other faculty, several classes worth of students across campus, university and high school sports coaches, andcommunity partners who work more directly with youth who would be interested in a Food Studies degree and the internships associated with those degrees. ASU agribusiness students and myself attended the annual Colorado Potato Administrative Committee (CPAC) Potato Festival Sept. 9. This was a great opportunity to network current ASU students with regional high school FFA students managing booths and hosting games in collaboration with regional agricultural employers. I joined the SLV Ag Advisory group for CSU Extension in the San Luis Valley. Inclusion in this group broadens our reach via more direct connection with Larry Brown, SLV Extension Agent. He and I now communicate regularly in regard to interested operators willing to be matched with students for learning opportunities. Reilly joined the Gen Wild coalition to make connections with site supervisors set on getting young people outdoors - these local connections will help support students looking for education and youth focused internships. Reilly also became an internship team leader on campus to increase connections between faculty, career services, employers, and students. In this role she has been able to connect with new employer opportunities through other departments and their networks that overlap with the interests of Food Studies students. Also, this close connection to the career services department will be useful for connecting students with internship opportunities and supporting them through the application process. Her work to make the process of employing students at the university simpler and establish a clearer path for employers through improved communication mechanisms and consolidation of processes will make employing our students more appealing in the long run, bringing in more employers. I also attended the Valley Roots Food Hub's Fall Shindig in Mosca in October. This was a fun celebration of food, agriculture, and people as well as an opportunity to connect with folks who may wish to engage with our students. Students and I also enjoyed networking with regional agricultural employers at the ASU SpudBowl Football game Oct. 11. This is a great informal opportunity for potential supervisors and students to meet and engage about the agriculture industry in a more relaxed venue. The San Luis Valley agricultural community is very supportive of our students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Reilly Caldwell, M.A. attended a conference with the Agriculture, Food & Human Values Society in June to support our endeavors in that direction. She will incorporate information into her course work, broadening our capacity to support students interested in these topics. Reilly was also able to make connections with graduate programs that students may be interested in pursuing and came back with ideas for updating the current Food Studies curriculum, creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary learning, and a broader list of possible career and internship options for students. She plans to use what she learned to incorporate updated information on the state of the U.S. food system and highlight new research avenues in and out of academia in her classes. Reilly was selected as a 2024 E. Kika De La Garza fellow with the USDA. She spent a week in early July learning about opportunities for students in the form of internships and career options. This fellowship also provided her with new connections at other HSI institutions. Reilly used this opportunity to learn about the USDA's work in advancing nutrition security across the US as well as their programs and scholarship opportunities which support young people as they cultivate interest in agriculture and food. She will be updating her courses in an ongoing effort to include the newest projects undertaken by the USDA and connecting students in the Food Studies department with potential opportunities through USDA programs. Overall, this fellowship benefitted the Food Studies department by better aligning her knowledge base and student engagement opportunities with the latest USDA programs. In particular, this will allow us to better serve our Hispanic and minority students by connecting them with scholarships and career opportunities focused on their needs, interests, and backgrounds. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have several students interested in internships for the fall '24 semeseter, and are inthe process of of matching students to experiences. One of our students who is interested in social media markeitng and agribusiness will create a website for the agribusiness program as well as grant activities. I requested 1-2 page reflection papers from each of the 10 participants last summer regarding their experiences, as well as a 2-3 minute video reflecting on the impact that the internship had on their edcuational as well as personal experience in the industry. I will collect thosethis fall and uploadthem into the website once it's created to increase exposure of the program and grant opportunities as well as utilize our collective student experiencesfor recruiting purposes. I believe leadership changes at the institution and graduation of the students who were were in college for the Covid-19 experience have benefited our ability to recruit students for grant endeavors. Ialsobelieve increased presence of related media access to the student perspective (videos) will improve our recruiting endeavors considering our target audience of high school students in the comparable age range and life experience. We will also support the students engaged in summer '24 internships with the organization of the conference this coming year. I think that it will be an exciting opportunity for regional high school students as well as ASU students to further their collective engagement in the agriculture industry as well as with one another.Now that we have several providers of internships engaged, we will survey providers as well as student participants to learn more about each side's need as matched to levels of student preparation. Out of this, we will work to build a database to include onthe website so it is visible to potential employers as well asstudents. Reilly and I are excited to take this project forward this year with greater interest from students and site supervisors alike. We anticipate learning more about both perspectivesand being able to use that information productively in our ongoing program development.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Jace Martinez and Xiomara Maestas were awarded scholarships for the remainder of the grant time frame (current completion date of 8/31/2025). With the Covid experience, we had not received applicants for the scholarship until Fall 2023. Being halfway through the grant time frame, we split the one 4-year award amount into two 2-year opportunities to utilize the scholarship funding for maximum student benefit by the term expected for the grant. Both students are engaged with internship opportunitiesand are very appreciative of both the scholarship and internship opportunities.Xiomara Maestas is a Hispanic freshman female studying Food Studies with a 3.75 cumulative GPA, and Jace Martinez is a Hispanic, low-income junior male studying Agribusiness with a 3.78 cumulative GPA. The opening up of semester internship opportunities for students helped greatly this year. We started with 1 in the spring semester but this grew to 10 for summer '24! I am excited for students in their respective learning opportunities, they communicate value and excitement for their studies and future career in our ongoing mentoring conversations. Jace Martinez was very excited to receive scholarship and internship opportunities this academic year. He was interested in learning about agricultural lending and the banking industry, so we set him up with First Southwest Bank for the spring 2024 semester. He very much enjoyed the work - learning that he liked the numbers and financials, he just wasn't as fond of spending his days inside at a desk. So, for summer '24, he is working with the Forest Service and reports that he likes this work very much - as well as being able to be outdoors. This opportunity has helped Jace learn more about his own personal career preferences as well as build confidence in his abilities across employers. Justin Henderson is working with management at a ranch in northwestern Colorado, and is enjoying the perspective this opportunity has provided for him to see a different view of ranching as a business. He has expressed the importance and value education brings to operational management issues. Justin attended the Colorado FFA Convention in June to share his experiences in the program and grant provided internship opportunity with potential students from Colorado high schools. He enjoys recruiting, and is both energetic and purposeful in his communication with potential students. Justin is considering both ranching and furthering his academic studies beyond the bachelor's degree in his future. Katie Dalsaso is working with the Conservation District in Colorado Springs this summer and very much enjoying the opportunity. Katie did not grow up in agriculture, but is very excited about developing her career in this industry. This opportunity is providing her with greater knowledge about Federal support of our environment and how the agriculture industry interacts with respective communities - rural as well as urban. Kaden Chavez is working with a farm/ranch retail supplier and is excited to have the opportunity to work more directly with inventories, customers, and problem solving in his daily duties. He is excited to learn "the other side" of the operation (decision making), and the experience has increased his understanding as well as value for management of small issues before they create larger concerns. Tyler Martinez is working with a ranch in western New Mexico, with this opportunity giving him greater insight and experience into the management issues (hiring, training, operational strategy, decision making priorities). He too is excited to learn more about the decision making, planning, and implementation strategies that allow the business to operate successfully. Tyler has already communicated his interest in setting up a fall semester internship while he is taking classes, so we are working together to broaden his experience and perspective in that undertaking. Kelsey Weeks is working for the Rio Grande Water Conservation District with regard to management of regional water needs, individual water rights, and sustainability of the Rio Grande River that runs from Colorado through New Mexico to form the international boundary between Texas and Mexico. The Rio Grande District Roundtable and Working Group work diligently to ensure Colorado meets its delivery obligations while ensuring those with water rights in the Rio Grande are satisfied in time, place, and quantity as water is made available for needed projects that improve management capability while not injuring rights on the river. Kelsey is excited to learn about the different perspectives with regard to the Rio Grande as well as the competing interests water serves among rural communities, businesses, agriculture, and respective government / public needs. The Conservation District has expressed appreciation for Kelsey's work as well, they are excited to work with students developing their career as well as water interests and her respectively. Josh Valentine and Elizabeth (Liz) Valentine are brother and sister in the agribusiness program, having grown up on their family-owned century lived ranch in the southern San Luis Valley. They are constructing an active generational succession plan to address financials, management priorities and goals, natural resources, and inheritance responsibilities as well as capabilities to ensure the 100-year-old ranch remains in the family as well as grows to the capacity needed to support 3 generations of family. We meet regularly as they talk through concerns and we work to strategize opportunities for a future that includes their parents and them as well as their brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews. Xiomara Maestas is a food studies major and enjoying her internship with the Valley Educational Gardens Initiative (VEGI) program. The VEGI program is both a functional garden and also a space for garden and nutrition education. Xiomara is excited for her opportunity to explore nutrition education especially in a youth focused position as well as apply the gardening skills she learned in class. This opportunity also gives her the ability to explore what work for a non-profit would look like and give back to the local community as food from VEGI goes to the local bank. Xiomara is also interested in exploring the differences between controlled environment agriculture and outdoor relatively high-altitude agriculture as VEGI uses both techniques to produce food and educate others. Sergio Zaragoza is a food studies major and is excited withhis internship at the Rio Grande Farm Park this summer. He likes the all-encompassing opportunity with the Farm Park to work with different people, vegetables, and growing methods. He is also excited to engage more with the public nature of farm parks and how they work to increase access to food for people in need. Reilly and I are excited to see students in the agriculture and food programs take advantage of the internship opportunities available. We are also excited to facilitate the relationships developing with employers, for the institution as well as the students. We are excited to continue as well as grow these opportunities into the next academic year.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:High school students were targeted with visits to individual high school classrooms and regional FFA, athletic, knowledge bowl, history fair, and science fair events throughout the year. This led to severalindividual conversations with prospective students as well asrespective parents, high school teachers, and counselors (Center,Swink,Trinidad, LaVeta,Sargent,Del Norte,Sanford,Centauri, Sierra Grande, Alamosa, Walsenburg).University students were targeted at thebeginning of the year with the meet-and-greet for College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) students as well as in classesas we began the Fall '22 academic year. Opportunities were shared in the courses that I taught throughout the year (agribusiness, business law,macroeconomics, leadership, and global business strategy; Fall = 31, 10, 31, 23; Spring = 11, 12, and 12 students per course) as well as individual student advising sessions. Taylor Lewis (President of the Agribusiness Club) spoke to the entire class in each of the Bus 103 Introduction to Business sections (Fall = 3sections, 45, 45, and 18 students each; Spring = 2 sections, 13 and 35 students each) regarding associated opportunities with agribusiness. I also shared the internship opportunties with my summer ASU Macroeconomics courses in May (college) and June (high school concurrent). The officer team of the ASU Ag Club also shared these opportunities with new ASU students (verbally) at the ASU Involvement Fair on campus early in the Fall '22 semester. ASU Agribusiness students and myself shared the internship opportunities with the community at respective agriculture focused community events (Alamosa County Farm Bureau Farm Festival in October, Native American Student organization presentations on campus in November, SpudBowl football game, Annie's Project, Southern Rocky Mountain Agricultural Conference & Trade Fair in February, Colorado Potato Administrative Committee supported basketball game, grant funded Conference / Student Career for Agriculture in April, and CAMP events year round) targeting university as well as regional high school students while engaging current and potential internship hosts. I remain a part of the advisory boards for Trinidad State Junior College and the regionally focused Colorado State University San Luis Valley Extension service, and continually share the grant funded internship opportunities for students as well as engagement opportunities for regional employers. I communicated with other regional community colleges regularly throughout the year (Otero Junior College, Lamar Community College, San Juan / Pueblo Community College, Trinidad Junior College in Trindad as well as Alamosa). In givingan Annie's Project presentation in February, I was able to target ~15 regional women agribusiness participants - and expanding our target reach to include participants from Pagosa Springs. I usually do not have many nontraditional students in class, but I wanted to see if that were of interest to this group.The student led conference occurred in April, where we targeted the regional high school (14 schools)and community college students (6 institutions) as well as regionalemployers (22 entities in attendance and actively searching positions, bothfull time and part time). Regional agricultural employers are very supportive of this endeavor. Changes/Problems:1) Dr. Nikki Kasper left the university. Her position has been searched successfully; so we would like to bring Dr. Reilly Caldwell into the project in the same capacityfor which Nikki was listed (co- project director). Reilly and I have engaged with plans to introduce her to the SLV agriculture and food community organizations and individuals. I am excited for the background she brings to our institution and to these programs, and think heractivities with thegrant will be instrumental. Scope and capacity will remain the same as were allocated to Nikki in the grant materials. 2)Students have not applied for summer internships in the quantity expected, so we would like to apply existing internship funds to fall and spring semesteropportunities as well with thegoal ofattracting students while they are on campus. Scope and capacity will be the same, this just expands student access to improve outcomes and more fully utilize grant support to meet existing goals as defined. 3)Scholarship applications from high school / entry level students have not materialized for the one four-yearrenewable scholarship allocated in the grant, so we would like to offer two 2-year scholarships with those funds to increase retention as well as potential recruitment for students engaged in the program. Our thought is that students may have more access to scholarships in year 1 so are not applying for this opportunity, but may actually need the funds more in years two through four to fully commit to the degree track. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Students have had access to increased hands-on learning opportunities with this project, and employers have had the opportunity to become more closely engaged with the ASU Agribusiness program as we all work together to solve regional agricultural labor issues. We are rural, so there arenot as many trainedworkersas employers would like to hirein the region.This drives up the price of labor, which can make it difficult for smaller employers to compete for employees. This project increases student awareness of the opportunities available near their home, which positively impacts both the region (economically) andfamilies (socially). Students wereengaged in networking with leaders in the regional agricultural industry, planning of the conference, speaking,recruiting, and marketing their industry this past year.Christian Santistevan, a recent graduate, and I met over the summer because he had realized through his activities with the grant last year that he didn't have to leave the San Luis Valley and his family to find career opportunities where he could utilize his agribusiness degree. Christian is from San Luis, Colorado - the oldest town in Colorado,where his family has been part of the community for over a century, and the first in his family to obtain a college degree. Heis a great example of why we do the things we do, and is now comparing regional job opportunities with the idea of opening his own restaurant in San Luis in a building historically owned by his family. Blake Denton engaged in training with his internship with the Colorado Forest Service. Taylor Lewis was able to increase her exposure to and training with regard to social media advertising; she is currently working on updating promotional material and a website for the grant opportunity as well as the agribusiness program. She was engaged with the promotional material for the conference. All agribusiness students are engaged in training opportunities in the classroom and with Club activities. Students were able to network with industry professionals at the conference hosted in April as well as theconference attended in February. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have used the two regional newspapers as well as a local radio station for advertisement targeting the San Luis Valley(the Valley Courier,the Monte Vista Journal; KRZA radio station) with an invitation to the conference. On campus, we have used Adams State University Portal which publishes campus activities to the entirety of campus, as well as the Agribusiness Club board in the main hall of the ASU School of Business which faces all persons entering the building. We have also communicated directly via email with regional community colleges and high schools, as well as regional employers regularly throughout the year. This has helped break down communication barriers as I now receive occassional phone calls and personal visits from high school teachers and parents helping their students find their next step to a college and/or career path. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Two ASU Agribusiness students who serve in leadership positions for the Agribusiness Club were able to get scheduled for a face to face conversation with a science class at Sierra Grande schools in April. Thesestudents as well as the teacher of the class felt this was positive for high school student exposure to internship opportunities, the programs targeted, andattending college overall. The ASU students were excited with how they were able to grow professionally withthe sharing of their own academic experience -having not previously realized how much high school students would look to them for answers (great preparaton for them regarding confidence and professional engagement). I intend to continue this with more student to student contact directly in high school classrooms as can be arranged in both the fall and spring semesters this academic year (2023-24). Scheduling became an issue in April as many regional high school teachers were juggling state testing and the need tocover material in their classes with the time left in the semester, so I think we can be more effective and reach more high school students by scheduling earlier and more evenly throughout the year.I also think this will allowtime to generate more interest forrecruiting with the college students as well as more time for preparation of questions forhigh school students, teachers, and counselors. College students have communicated valuethe ability to"give back" to the upcoming generation of students by sharing their experiences and I think this will be important for the demographic we are seeking to serve. I also think high school students will ask questions of the college students that they may be hesitant to ask of me, which I think will be invaluable for their engagement in the internsthips as well as a college level academic experience. As students get comfortable with classes this fall, I intend to request brief write ups of the internship experiences from those students who completed them this summer as well as last summer and find a way topublish those in university recruitmentmaterials.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? The Conference / Student Career Fair was held April 12 at the Outcalt Conference and Event Center at the SLV Ski Hi Complex in Monte Vista, CO. Ms. Jordyn Neely served as the speaker, she is a graduate of the ASU Agribusiness program and nearing completion of her Masters' degree with Humbolt University as well as an active member of the SLV agricultural community. She manages her own goat operation and works for the Forest Service. Jordyn gave an engaging speech titled "The Future of Agriculture: Job Outlook in the Industry." She also led an impromptu discussion that developed immediately after her speechwith producers and employers creating a circle with students to "just talk" about the industry, opportunities therein, and how we can all work together to ensure as well as engage in the future of the agriculture industry. This was an exceptional opportunity as all put their professional roles aside and engaged in a conversation about various ways we could work together to bring more people into the industry. The engagement of the 20+ potential employers present left no doubt in students' mind that there is both the opportunity and a team present to support them in the SLV as well as the national agriculture industry. Adam Moore with CSU Forestry and I met in early March regarding summer internships. He is very interested in hosting students again and had a couple projects outlined. Blake Denton, an upper level agribusiness student, was interested in learning more about the forestry industry so we were able to match the two up for a summer internship experience. I continue to connect with Blake and Adam electronically, and both have expressed value in their respective experiences.

    Publications


      Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

      Outputs
      Target Audience:Hispanic and underserved university and high school students in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, are the target audience. The target audience and the San Luis Valley is a both socially and economically disadvantaged.Efforts engaged includedclassroom instruction, event collaborations with regional high school teachers of science, business, and agriculture as well as FFA and 4-H leaders and activities. We were able to place 2 students with internship opportunities for Summer 2022. One with the Colorado State Forest Service and the other with Worley Family Farms, Inc. They both reported positive, engaged learning experiences. Changes/Problems:The pay per hour in the grant was $12/hour, however when summer arrived in the San Luis Valley - average pay rates were $15-$20 / hour. The SLV is a high altitude desert, so the active agricultural period begins in late May. As we could not get students interested in the internship experience, I learned of the pay situation and reach out to USDA staff who graciously allowed us to change the pay to a more competitive number. We reduced the number of internships offered and increased the pay so that the expenditure was the same, and as a result were able to hire 2 students for the experience. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Student interns were provided with training specific to their internship activities at their respective places of work. The internship experience itself also provided students experience with basic job skills (interviewing, showing up to work, communicating with industry professionals). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Increase communication about both the opportunity and the experience on campus, in the community, and to students in regional high schools. I plan to update the university website with regard tothe internship program as well as create updated recruitment material to share broadly (both print and digital media). Students who participated in internships during the summer will be invited to share their experience in the agricultural classrooms this fall. As we brought our campus Covid operations to a close late last spring, I anticipate greater interest and ability to award the scholarship this academic year (student as well as panel / professional engagement). Students will attend the Southern Rocky Mountain Agricutural Conference in February.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? Increased outreach to students, both high school and university, from socially and economically disadvantaged agricultural region was possible with this grant funding. Communication was intitiated and continued with the 14 high schools in the San Luis Valley (SLV), Trinidad State Junior College - Alamosa campus, and current Adams State agribusiness studentswith regard to access for paid internships. The experiential learning opportunity was alsoshared with the many high school students from across the nation attending the National WesternCareer Roundup Pathways Expo in Denver in January.SLV high school students were targeted again as summer began via direct email to their respective FFA advisors. An agricultural business wishing to provide internship opportunities to students joined an agribusiness class meeting to give first hand perspective about running an agribusiness as well his desire to hire them.Students were also able to attend the Southern Rocky Mountain Agricultural Conference in February to learn about new technology in the industry as well as network with current agricultural business owners.

      Publications