State youth experience agricultural study, research at OSU, Lan

Oklahoma

CSAg? What sounds like a premise for a rural spin-off of the CBS franchise is how an Oklahoma State University professor recently explained the relevance of agricultural studies to a group of junior high and high school students.

"The things you see scientists do on that show, 'CSI?' That's biochemistry," said Earl Mitchell, describing forensic applications of the science that is a major in OSU's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (DASNR).

Biochemistry is a science that deals with the chemistry of life processes in plants and animals.

"It sounds hard, but it's not. I got a degree in biochemistry and so can you," said the interim head of OSU's department of biochemistry and molecular biology. "If you want to do it at OSU, we've got lots of scholarship money for you."

The 7th- through 12th-graders are chapter members of Retired Educators for Youth Agricultural Programs (REYAP), a non-profit organization created by Oklahoma teachers to help minority youth realize their potential through opportunities in agriculture.

Mitchell spoke to them at the start of a workshop during the inaugural REYAP Agriculture Science and Technology Institute.

Hosted by OSU and Langston University, the July 19 to 21 institute introduced 43 REYAP members to agricultural degree, research and career options. Housed in OSU residential suites, the students toured facilities, interacted with faculty members and participated in hands-on workshops at both campuses.

DNA analysis was the focus of the biochemistry and molecular biology workshop. Students had to solve a puzzle less far-fetched than those dramatized on television. Given the DNA fingerprints of five different bulls and one calf, they determined the calf's sire.

"There aren't many opportunities to learn this at my school," said Wynnewood High School senior Quincy Turner, 16. "I've learned a lot more about agriculture through this program, such as how biochemistry helps the ag industry, which is good for the food industry."

Students also participated in workshops involving agricultural engineering and, at Langston, pathology and aquaculture. The latter two gave them a glimpse at agricultural scientists' work to develop new antibiotics for resistant strains of food-borne bacteria and pond management in freshwater seafood production.

"We were especially pleased with the cooperation between Langston and OSU faculty," said Ladonna McCowan, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service specialist in the department of biosystems and agricultural engineering and REYAP institute coordinator. "Even faculty members who weren't involved with the institute came by and asked how they could help."

McCowan said participants were very comfortable with faculty and indicated they would have no problem calling to talk about majors and career options, which was a goal of the institute.

Organizers hope the institute served to emphasize the importance of science and math study as preparation for college. The students will continue to work on science projects that originated with the workshops.

"We want the students to know about non-traditional agriculture careers as well as traditional careers, but non-traditional--the agricultural engineering, genetics, biotechnology, biochemistry--is where most of the students' interests lie," said Rita Combs, REYAP executive director.

Combs said the junior high and high school students will take what they learned and spend the rest of the year completing science projects that will be the basis for entries in REYAP contests in Oklahoma.

"Then they will compete nationally at the MANNRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences) annual conference," Combs said.

The two-and-a-half-day agenda was not limited strictly to science. Participants were highly involved in personal and professional development activities and cultural experiences. The students were honored at a professional, formal banquet attended by REYAP leadership and OSU and Langston administrators, including Bob Whitson, vice president of OSU agricultural programs and DASNR dean and director, and Marvin Burns, dean of Langston's School of Agriculture, Applied Sciences and Research.

"The institute was very successful, and 100 percent of the students said they would return," McCowan said. "It was an exciting experience for them, especially the program that the OSU Latin Dance Club did for us."

McCowan had high praise for the enthusiasm of OSU and Langston faculty, and shared that there are plans to extend next year's institute to five days.

"We are very pleased to host the REYAP institutes and provide hands-on experiences to our state's multicultural youth about the role of science in agriculture and new career opportunities in agriculture," Whitson said. "Hosting this institute represents a unique opportunity for us to show REYAP students what is available to them."

Dated notions of agriculture limit scholar recruitment and retention, said Brent Westerman, OSU senior director of the Field and Research Service Unit with the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station.

"Many kids today don't know that there's more to agriculture than milking a cow or driving a tractor," Westerman said. "We want REYAP students to see that we're involved in genetic modification of plants for drought and disease resistance, food safety, remote sensing applications, biofuels development, habitat preservation and many other fields that depend upon a solid background in science and math."

REYAP was founded in 1994 in Bristow by the late Sam Combs Jr., W.G. Parker, James R. Johnson, A.W. Hampton and M.E. Gamble, retired vocational agriculture teachers who realized there were no longer any African-American vocational agriculture teachers in Oklahoma. Its mission is to help African-American, Native American and Hispanic youth experience career-building opportunities and learn important life skills through agriculture-related activities.

Date: 8/24/06

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