Academics
Student Spotlight: Brothers Combine Leadership and Dairy Science
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| Michael and Mitchell Guard |
The college has a strong tradition of student enrollment in the Corps of Cadets. Although the university requirement for the Corps has long been discontinued, the Corps has grown to more than 700 students and many of them are pursuing degrees from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Mitchell and Michael Guard are excellent examples of how this tradition lives on through the current generation of students.
Mitchell and Michael Guard were born and raised on their family’s Holstein dairy farm located in Friendsville, Md. During their high school years, the twins contributed greatly to the farm, which has been in their family for more than 130 years. After high school, they both applied and were accepted to Virginia Tech and the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC). Prior to arriving at Tech, both Guard brothers earned the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Emerging Leader scholarship, and Mitchell received a four-year Marine Corps NROTC scholarship. After a year at Virginia Tech and NROTC, Michael won a three-year Marine Corps NROTC scholarship.
Mitchell is working towards a bachelor of science in dairy science enterprise management with a minor in leadership. Michael is earning his bachelor of science in the dairy science pre-vet option with a minor in leadership. Both, upon graduation, will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the Marine Corps.
The Guard twins also participate in the Semper Fi Society and the Dairy Club. Michael is the Golf Company Commanding Cadet Officer with responsibility for the discipline, training, and welfare of more than 60 cadets. Mitchell is the Naval Battalion Operations Officer and is responsible for the smooth and efficient running of the battalion of 230 Navy and Marine cadets. He also serves as a Platoon Leader in Golf Company. This past summer, both Guard brothers graduated the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School where Mitchell was Honor Graduate in his platoon.
Much of their success is attributed to the leadership training they have gained in the Corps of Cadets and the NROTC. By taking active roles in the Corps, both Guard brothers have experienced many challenges and responsibilities that will no doubt help guide their actions for a lifetime. Mitchell described the Corps of Cadets as a “great organization that allows cadets to develop and experiment with different leadership styles that will serve them as the potential officers of the United States armed forces and in the civilian world.”
First Annual Fall Semester
Kickoff Picnic Held
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences celebrated the beginning of the academic year with the Fall Semester Kickoff Picnic held in the Agriculture Quadrangle.
The event welcomed new and returning students to the college and celebrated the beginning of the academic year with faculty, staff, and students. The Block and Bridle Club, Poultry Club, HNFE Fitness and Nutrition Club, and Dairy Club provided a delicious barbecue meal and milk shakes for the approximately 1,900 guests. Attendees also had an opportunity to learn about the many clubs and organizations associated with the college (pictured). Although rain abruptly ended the festivities, the event was enjoyed by all.
Hokie Harvest Sale Grosses More Than $167,000
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| Cliff Williamson, animal and poultry sciences junior, takes a bid during the horse sale. |
The 2006 Livestock Merchandising Class entertained a spectacular crowd of more than 800 friends and supporters on a rainy, muddy evening at the 12th Annual Hokie Harvest Sale on Friday, October 27. More than 200 registered buyers came from Virginia, Missouri, Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Connecticut, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Maryland to bid on an offering of breeding swine, beef cattle, and horses.
The beef cattle sale grossed $75,425 with a sale average of $2,357 with the following breed totals: Angus - $43,500; Hereford - $16,325; Simmental - $3,450; Gelbvieh - $1,850; Commercial - $8,750; and Charolais - $1,550. The horse sale grossed $90,100 with a sale average of $3,465 while the eight breeding swine averaged $249. This year’s sale gross totaled $167,515, which is the second highest grossing sale since the inception of the Hokie Harvest in 1995.
The top selling lot in the beef cattle sale was Lot 8 in the bred cow/calf division, which sold for $4,650. The bred cow is a daughter of Bon View New Design 1407 and is an exciting performance blend backed by the herd-sire producing Tibbie family. This three-year-old Angus cow sold to Pleasant View Farms, of Wayside, W.Va. Her stout bull calf, sired by SAF Strategy 9015, sold to Thomas Thompson of Natural Bridge Station, Va.
The top selling horse was Lot 14, Fox Nuri VT (Foxfire), which sold for $15,000 to Michael Arrington of Goode, Va. This 2003 gorgeous grey gelding is a stylish show hunter and was champion colt of his ISR/Oldenburg NA inspection.
Response from the buyers and feedback from the students in the class continue to be overwhelmingly in favor of hosting another student-run livestock sale. Plans are currently underway for the 13th Annual Hokie Harvest Sale on Friday, October 26, 2007. Hope to see you there!
Local Fourth Graders Learn the ABC’s of Agriculture
More than 500 students from Pulaski, Giles, and Floyd counties discovered the importance of agriculture during the Fourth Grade Agricultural Experience Program which ran from Sept. 13 through 15. The program, which was held at the college’s Alphin-Stuart Livestock Teaching Arena and taught in collaboration with the College of Natural Resources, introduced youngsters to agriculture as a medium to teach science for the Virginia Standards of Learning.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to educate children about Virginia agriculture while incorporating the SOLs,” said Professor Emeritus John Hillison. The former head of the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education helped direct the wide-eyed children to their appropriate stations. “It is also a great community outreach program for our Virginia Tech students,” he added.
College students from groups such as the Poultry Club and the Dairy Club volunteered to teach the eight rotating classes of about 25 fourth graders each. Monica Crafton, a senior animal and poultry sciences major, explained that she and other volunteers enjoyed teaching the local youth about agriculture.
“We’re teaching the kids about the anatomy of the chicken and where the egg comes from,” Crafton said.
A cage with four chickens, each of a different breed, sat in the front of the room where the youngsters listened to Crafton explain the ABC’s of poultry science. To her right stood a table with eggs and a device to light or “candle” the eggs so that the fourth graders could see what’s inside. These activities are about more than chickens and eggs, however.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about agriculture,” Crafton explained. “We are hoping that these sorts of educational programs will help dispel some of the stereotypes at a young age.”
The other classes covered dairy science, livestock, entomology, agricultural economics, agronomy, fisheries and wildlife science, and horticulture. Participants studied soil profiles in a soil pit, created grain art from Virginia-grown grains, viewed live insects, and learned about breeds of livestock and what foods they produce. Virginia Tech volunteers, both students and administrators, helped to manage the large crowd of youngsters at each station.
“This is the sixth year we have done the program, and it has been very successful each time,” said Bob Meadows, associate director of 4-H youth development for Virginia Cooperative Extension.
Volunteers with 4-H joined others such as Rachel Diersen, a junior conservation major with the College of Natural Resources. “I volunteered with Alpha Zeta, an honors fraternity that helps with leading the groups around the livestock arena,” Diersen explained.
The youngsters donned red, green, and yellow hats that the volunteers had distributed at the beginning of the program. “They are definitely having fun,” Diersen said.
In addition to teaching basic agricultural literacy, the program gave the children a glimpse at a possible future in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. During lunch, the students sat on the bleachers anxiously waiting for a horse show to begin. As the horses entered the arena, the crowd cheered with excitement and one boy shouted, “Go Virginia Tech!”