March 22, 2016: Sixteen diverse high school students with Girls Inc. (Indianapolis chapter), who had expressed an interest in college, visited the Purdue University College of Agriculture. These students were divided into groups and treated to tours of several buildings (Pfendler, Horticulture, Smith, Food Science, and Forestry). While on tour they were regaled with stories about the success of previous students and asked to think about similarities from within their personal interests that were applicable to some the various majors.

After the tour, these students were invited to ask a panel of current Purdue students about careers in Agriculture and college life. While it was glaringly apparent that we did not recruit all of them to the College of Agriculture, the conversations that they had on the way back to Indianapolis showed that we certainly opened their eyes to possibilities that they were unaware of until this point. Now the students know that agriculture is not all about being a farmer and growing crops but about every aspect from the seed, to the water and soil, to harvest, and to market.

Those instrumental in making this visit a success were: Julie Pluimer, Tracie Egger, Megan Gunn, and Shaneka Lawson.
Also, panel input from Purdue University student volunteers was invaluable.

Pictured are Student Volunteers (all front and seated l to r) Chloe Jefferson and Kara McKinney (Purdue MANRRS) and four Purdue student volunteers from the Purdue chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Jessica Collins, Justice Montgomery, India Whitney, and DeAngila Jones).