In an exciting initiative to foster community collaboration and academic mentorship, the USDA UC Merced's FARMERS Facilitating Agriculture-Related Mentoring for Emerging Research Scholars Program partnered with El Capitan High School's Future Farmers of America chapter.
This academic year, FARMERS fellows, comprising four graduate students and four undergraduate students, dedicated time and expertise to mentor students in El Capitan’s agriculture chemistry class, taught by Kaylyn Davenport, to address today's agricultural challenges. The FFA students conducted surveys and small-scale experiments ranging from food preservation to growing plants under different lights.
On April 27, the FARMERS Program hosted its first FFA Spring Symposium to celebrate El Capitan High School students' hard work and introduction into the world of college-level science and research. Fellows developed and implemented the symposium.
“The FFA Spring Symposium was a huge success thanks to our FARMERS fellows,” program director Professor Rudy Ortiz said. “We couldn’t have done it without Mrs. Davenport, who assisted the FARMERS mentors in instructing the students while providing support to her students and teaching them the curriculum.”
