University farm offers variety
Chris Reid
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: TruLife
The Agricultural Science major is for everyone, not just those who already have a rural or agricultural background. When you compare the number of students in the major who are from rural backgrounds to those from urban or suburban backgrounds, the results are almost half and half, Costello said.
"We have a lot of people who graduated from tiny high schools who are coming here to learn some new techniques to bring back to the farm," Costello said. "We also have a large number of pre-veterinary students from Kansas City, St. Louis and other urban areas. Students often choose ag pre-vet over biology pre-vet because of the exposure they can get with the animals."
Sophomore Joanna Russell said she switched from a biology major to an agricultural science major.
"I switched to an ag major both because I enjoyed spending time at the farm more than at Magruder, and I realized that I only knew two of the biology professors' names, and I knew all of the ag faculty even though I was only an equine science minor," Russell said. "It's just a really nice, small, personal program."
Costello said that it is that personal approach that makes the agricultural science program really capture the essence of the University's mission.
"It's what Truman bases its appeal on," Costello said. "They have those big billboards that say 'I choose Truman, where my professor knows my name.' It's definitely true with agricultural science."
"We have a lot of people who graduated from tiny high schools who are coming here to learn some new techniques to bring back to the farm," Costello said. "We also have a large number of pre-veterinary students from Kansas City, St. Louis and other urban areas. Students often choose ag pre-vet over biology pre-vet because of the exposure they can get with the animals."
Sophomore Joanna Russell said she switched from a biology major to an agricultural science major.
"I switched to an ag major both because I enjoyed spending time at the farm more than at Magruder, and I realized that I only knew two of the biology professors' names, and I knew all of the ag faculty even though I was only an equine science minor," Russell said. "It's just a really nice, small, personal program."
Costello said that it is that personal approach that makes the agricultural science program really capture the essence of the University's mission.
"It's what Truman bases its appeal on," Costello said. "They have those big billboards that say 'I choose Truman, where my professor knows my name.' It's definitely true with agricultural science."
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