In a year when COVID-19 threw many students’ summer plans into uncertainty, or cancelled them outright, 32 lucky – and determined – students from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences got the chance to shine, showcasing their summer internships and experiences in the college’s first virtual Showcase of Student Excellence on Sept. 2.
“There’s more to college than being in a classroom. Experiential learning has always been a key part of the experience,” said Antoine Alston, Ph.D., associate dean of academic studies. “Despite the pandemic, these students were able to get out of their comfort zone and get in the field outside the classroom.”
Undergraduate and graduate students gave virtual presentations about their internships, research projects and other summer work during the online presentation, facilitated by Alston.
Agribusiness major Dallas Cooks, a senior, welcomed the virtual audience to the event, and then shared her experience working with chemical giant BASF. During the internship, she created surveys for collecting feedback on their new “Tableau Server” software, created a reference guide and communicated the results to employees, along with tips and tricks to improve their experience with the software.
Animal sciences major Caitlin Moore’s experience was completely hands-on. This summer, she shadowed Lexington veterinarian Dr. Mark Hamric at his large animal practice. She worked with him to diagnose an equine patient that was unable to swallow, send the animal to NC State for further study, and then work with the animal again when the vet school sent it back. Further study of the animal showed that it had the protozoan infection EPM, which they were able to treat.
Junior environmental science major Quentin Martinez was able to have a virtual internship with the Savannah River Environmental Sciences Field Station. Under normal conditions, he would have conducted field research at the station while completing coursework at nearby USC-Aiken; however, this summer the coursework was online, and interns were able to conduct fieldwork at home with kits sent by the university.
“It really made up for us not being able to be there in South Carolina,” Martinez said.
Some students were able to conduct research projects, despite the pandemic.
Asha McElroy, a graduate student in the Food and Nutritional Sciences program, worked with faculty member Ramine Alexander, Ph.D. on a project examining barriers and facilitators to healthy eating among Black women age 18-25 attending Historically Black College and Universities, using data and responses from four focus groups to determine reasons for this under-studied groups’ food choices.
Alston and Dean Mohamed Ahmedna praised the students for their hard work this summer.
“The pandemic took things away, but you overcame all that,” Alston said.
“We are the largest College of Agriculture of all the HBCUs in the nation,” Ahmedna said, “and our students are shining examples of our quality.”
