Progress 06/15/23 to 06/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The audience for this project includes a wide range of primary beneficiaries, students (elementary, middle, high school, college), non-traditional learners, industries, state and federal agencies, and the public at large (Florida and Georgia communities etc.). During this reporting period we targeted students from schools whose curricula include elements of agricultural sciences, community colleges and universities. These include West Gadsden High School, Rickards High School, FAMU Development Research School (DRS), Godby High School and John Paul Catholic High School, Leon High School, Tallahassee Community College, Chipola Community College, FAMU, Fort Valley State University and University of Florida. In addition, we engaged non-traditional learners (Pest Control Professionals, Veteran Village, Florida Department of Corrections, Lighthouse Adult Learners, etc.). Changes/Problems:No changes were planned for this reporting period.. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Six (6) NextGen graduate scholars and five (5) undergraduate scholars attended regularly a development seminar conducted every two months by our Program Coordinator in collaboration with our Division of Research. Our scholars during the internships were also engaged with the Pest Control Industry (CEO and staff) who shaped their professional development career and leadership development. The scholars served on the Student Ambassadors Club of the College and participated in the Cultivating Undergraduate Research Scholars (CURS) Program in CAFS. Three (3) scholars served as members of professional organizations (FES, ESA) and Six (6) of them participated in the FAMU Career Development Pathways. Three (3) of our students attended the NEXTGEN student summit in Washington DC in 2024. Six (6) of our graduate scholars attended professional meetings where they gave oral, or poster presentations and three (3) scholars won best poster presentation awards and one (1) the best oral presentation award at MANRRS. They also attended events such as the Impact Collaborative Conference in Atlanta, Georgia; STEM-Bugs, and Nation al 4-H AgriScience Summit. Through these events, leadership and communication skills are being developed and collaborative linkages with other universities are being established. Attendance at activities such as the Pest World and presentation at conferences has strengthened students' confidence and self-esteem and their public speaking skills. They also indicated that the exposure helps them in preparing and defending their MS thesis degree. One student indicated that "the NextGen program provided funding for me to attend the Census of Agriculture in Washington D.C, the PestWorld Conference, and a summer research training at the University Florida and the Florida Department of Plant and Industries, the events have changed my outlook on career opportunities in agriculture sciences" Further, attendance at these professional meetings provided opportunities to work with tomorrow's leaders and gain useful insights into professional careers in Pest Management and USDA Workforce. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results and activities have been disseminated through a variety of avenues, including websites, newsletters, promotional materials, bulletins, production guides, professional meetings, workshops, special reports, and other social media outlets (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok etc.). We targeted elementary to secondary schools, college students, university students and non-traditional students. In year 1, we established a pipeline with 3 high schools we are adding 10 more high schools. We conducted several hands-on activities and events and traveled with high school students to experimental farms for experiential learning activities. Through a week-long workshop, we trained ten high school teachers in Pest Management and Agricultural Sciences and granted them Pest Management Certificates. We conducted summer camps where 10 students (8-12 graders) participated. We partnered with our collaborators at UF to deliver live Podcast (https://streamingscience.com/scientist-online-2/insect-investigators/) which reach out to several high school students in Florida and nationwide. The exposure to the Nextgen project has resulted in the creation of three Entomology clubs by students and their respective high school teachers. Ten (10) other high school teachers vow to create entomology clubs in their respective schools at the beginning of the upcoming school year. The events /activities have increased the awareness of careers in food and agriculture for participants including high school students as well as high school teachers. These interactions with high school students promote knowledge and awareness of pathways and careers at USDA and established a pipeline for future undergraduate NextGen scholars. We also developed a partnership with Tallahassee Community College through our STEM Collaborator for transfer students. On Campus, we worked with the Department of Biology and Pharmacy for student recruitments and to initiate and promote double majors such as entomology-biology and entomology- pharmacy. We worked with our extension collaborator to involve non-traditional students, farmers, pest control professionals, and veteran communities. Thus, we were able to involve 2,211 participants (refer to Question 1) with 40% from K-12 students, 18% undergraduates, 6% graduates, 25% through community festivals and 11% through professional meetings. The overall activities and strategies have increased our student enrollments by 95%. In addition, FAMU DRS School has established community gardens with the intent to use biologically based pest management strategies to educate underserved communities and students and to boost their interest in agricultural sciences. Further, a web-based page for the Nextgen project is being developed to bring more public awareness to the project and serve as an additional venue where participants at workshops and project hands-on activities can register and provide feedback. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to recruit students and to engage year-round with students and other stakeholders through school visits, hands-on training, participate in public events, attend professional meetings, and through social media outlets. We are developing virtual platforms to create interactive content to disseminate information and engage prospective students. We will conduct our Entomology summer camp in June-July 2024, our high school teacher workshops in Pest Management will be held during the 1st week of June 2024. Our Field Day and Workshops in Entomology for the Pest Control Industry with be during the 1st week of November 2024. We plan to conduct Insect Science Week at both FAMU campus and Fort Valley State University campus (Fall and Spring semester). Advertise summer internship and other opportunities available for students through several outlets including Cooperative Extension, Listserv, social media, email, and community bulletins. Our students will be going for experiential learning activities to 4 different sites across Floria and one site at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. This project strengthens our partnerships with USDA-ARS, USDA-APHIS, FDACS, and the Florida Pest Management Association and maximizes the relationship between CAFS, the Department of Biology, College of Pharmacy, and the School of the Environment. These strong cooperative linkages will continue to serve as useful and reliable foundations for future ventures and career path to USDA. We are creating a pipeline for students to move from middle and high schools to colleges and graduate level education in Insect Sciences, we will expand this initiative to additional schools, community colleges, and universities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
There is a drastic shortage of minorities in agricultural professions, thus, discipline such as Entomology/Insect Science faces an alarming decline in student enrollments and therefore careers in Pest Management, which is needed to safeguard US agriculture. Objective 1a. Recruit Minority Students in Pest Management for Insect and Plant Science Our recruitment efforts to create a sustainable pipeline from secondary schools to college, were conducted through participation of students in Insect Science (Entomology) activities, outreach, secondary school and college events, educational and non-educational activities. K-12 students (890 students) were engaged in the NextGen project through several events/ activities including booth/workstation set ups, classroom visits and field trips. These High Schools include FAMU DRS visits (3 events: 65 participants); Gadsden County High School visits (5 events: 292 participants); Rickards High School visits (18 events: 219 participants); Godby High School visits (2 events: 84 participants); William Smith High School visits (2 events: 60 participants); Home Schools from Georgia (2 events: 67 participants) and Riley Elementary School (2 events: 28 participants). We also conducted live podcast for 4-H students in Florida and Nationwide (https://streamingscience.com/scientist-online-2/insect-investigators/) (1 event: > 20 students).We particiapted in coumunity festivals such as the Harambee Festival and Grape Harvest Festival (2 events: 55 pariciapnts).Undergraduates (393 students) and graduates (128 students): 1). We established a partnership with the Department of Biology (45 students) and the College of Pharmacy (35 students) at FAMU to implement a double major; 2).Four students from that pool stated that "the double major provided an interdisciplinary aspect to their academic journey and the freedom to explore their interests in pest management and USDA career opportunities". We worked with the STEM Program at the Tallahassee Community College (2 events: 30 students); 3). We set up a booth at the 2023 Florida Entomological Society annual meeting, 2024 Associations of Research Directors Symposium, STEM Day, Earth Day and Ecology Day where we engaged and distributed NextGen flyers to participants (6 events: 140 participants). 4). We organized Fall and Spring Insect Science Weeks (5 events: 135 students) on FAMU campus and FVSU campus. We conducted Open Houses (7 activities: 136 students).These events and activities have increased the number of students in Entomology from 4 to 30 undergraduate students in addition to 10 graduate students. Insect Science Summer camps have already attracted ten (10) high school students. Thus, participation in Nextgen activities has boosted our student's enrollment by 95% and 84% of the Nextgen scholars who participated in the internships indicated that "the program changed their outlook on career opportunities in agriculture, empowered them to pursue their passion for agriculture and to explore their interests in pest management, and USDA workforce". Three press-releases featuring the unprecedent NEXTGEN funding along with an article in our Tallahassee Democrat Newspapers have provided strong visibility on Insect Science and NextGen project not only in Florida but also, in other HBCUs. Thus, 4 students (two graduate students from Louisiana and two undergraduate students from Georgia) have become NextGen Scholars with the intend to seek a USDA-related career. The awareness of pest management among the 12 high school teachers we trained in Entomology and granted them Certificates in Pest Management, has resulted in the creation of Entomology Clubs. High school students are now thinking of Entomology at an early age, hence, a pipeline which will lead to potential career opportunities at USDA. Of the students who participated in the Nextgen projects at the Gadsden County High School, three of them decided to work as OPS technicians in our Labs with the intention to become NextGen Scholars in the upcoming Fall semester. Objective 1b. Retain, mentor, provide scholarships, professional development, and leadership skills to students. We are developing new courses as to offer online BS and MS and PhD degree in Entomology. We invited experts in Insect Science for seminar presentations during the semester. We mentored our scholars in oral and poster presentations, which was demonstrated by 4 awards our students received at professional meetings (MANRRS, ARD). We also provided them with networking opportunities with the pest control professionals, scientists at Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services, at the University of Florida, and Fort Valley State University; this has assisted our students with professional development and leadership skills. We provided 50 scholarships of which 15 were 50% scholarships (based on GPA of 3.3 or higher) on a competitive basis to attract and retain dedicated and qualified students. Students indicated that the financial support provided them with an incentive for hard work and dedication to the NextGen program. The one-to-one mentoring has been beneficial as 4 students who were failing their class have been able to earn a grade B at the end of the semester. One student writes "without the Nextgen project I will not have the funds to attend a presentation on the Census of Agriculture in Washington D.C and a summer research training at University of Florida and the Florida Department of Plant and Industries, therefore changed my outlook on career opportunities in agriculture". Another student writes "The Next Generation scholarship is an amazing opportunity to prepare students to become the next generation of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences; it provides me with opportunities that I otherwise would not have the chance to take part in and pursue a career in agriculture sciences". Objective 2. Provide experiential learning opportunities and foster an interest in Pest Management. Each semester, we offered ENY 4907 "Special Research Problems" which allowed undergraduate students from other colleges to carry out mini-research projects in our Labs which give them awareness of agricultural Sciences. We provided 2-week summer camp activities for 10secondary school students to conduct mini-research; they gave oral presentations in front of their parents at the end of the summer camp. These students indicated that the experience had geared their interest toward Insect Science and will return for additional experience next summer. Their parents agreed with the students' assessments. This year, 12 NextGen scholars participated in 2-week internships at the University of Florida on pest management in vegetable production. At the Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services, students received hands-on training in molecular diagnostic of pests and diseases. They gained entrepreneurship and leadership experience during their internships with the Pest Control Industry in Gainesville, FL. At Fort Vallet State University, our students received training on the management of post-harvest pests. At USDA-ARS-CMAVE students learned about acoustic detection of pests of palm and pine trees. At USDA-ARS-REE, students had training on Identification and DNA fingerprinting, and they also learned about the Pathway program, and career opportunities at USDA. All students were granted certificates at the end of successful completion of the internship at each institution. The students stated that they will be returning for next year's internships, and they will recruit their peers to benefit from that rewarding internship experience. Of the 12 interns, 92% successfully applied to become NextGen scholars. All students indicated that the internships were highly beneficial to their future career and the certificates they received will enhance their resume and boost their chance in pest management and USDA-related careers.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
19th Biennial Symposium, Association of Research Directors
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