UK Ag Alums to Compete on the CBS Show "Amazing Race"

Check out an interview in the Kentucky Kernel with Liz & Marie Canavan, graduates of the UK College of Agriculture in Community & Leadership Development!  Thanks for giving UK Ag and some of our great professors a shoutout!

http://kykernel.com/2011/09/22/qa-with-amazing-race-contestants-uk-grads/

See Liz and Marie Canavan on the first episode Sunday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Drop Your Jeans for a Good Cause!

Officers of the MAT Club

The countdown has begun and we are officially one-fourth of the way into the semester.  Between Ag Roundup and the start of the Cotton Incorporated Denim Drive, time has flown by.  Roundup was a blast and we used this awesome alumni event to kickoff our 2011 Denim Drive.  The denim drive is a program that our Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles Club holds each year.  Sponsored by Cotton Incorporated, this is the club’s third official year of participation.

The MAT Club began participating in 2008 and since then, we have collected almost 20,000 pairs of jeans!  The jeans and denim items that we collect are sent off and processed into insulation for Habitat for Humanity homes.  Our 2010 denim drive set the record for the most jeans collected by a University, 11,278 pairs!  These jeans insulated 24 homes and diverted 8.5 tons of waste from the landfill!

We collect on campus, in the community, and throughout the state at county Cooperative Extension offices, high schools, and churches.  Carhartt Inc. out of Irvine, Kentucky is a large contributor to the drive as well. We are also depending on you as students at the University of Kentucky to help us collect even more than last year. 

You can donate your jeans now until October 31^st in the following locations:  Ag Science North lobby, Erikson Hall, Commons, Blazer Café, and the Center for Community Outreach in the Student Center. 

For more information visit the following website: http://www.cottonfrombluetogreen.org/

And be sure to Drop Your Jeans for a Good Cause!

Meredith,  Merchandising, Apparel & Textile Senior

Roundup and Wildcats and Classes....Oh My!

 

Wow, what an awesome start to the semester!  The past three weeks have been amazing, even if they have been hectic with the start of classes, catching up with friends I haven't seen all summer, UK Ag Roundup events, UK Preview Nights, and so much more. 

You might be wondering just what Roundup is.  UK Ag Roundup could be compared to a homecoming for the College of Agriculture.  Throughout the week, there are events for prospective, current, and former students, faculty and staff, and other groups such as Kentucky legislators, and the Lexington Rotary Club.  Without doubt, food, fun, and prizes are always in abundance.  During Roundup, I had the opportunity to meet UK President Capilouto.  I also met one of the candidates for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture, Kentucky legislators, current UK students, UK alumni, and former Ag Ambassadors.  I was so excited at Roundup on Saturday because I finally got to meet a really sweet lady from my hometown that my family had told me so much about! 

I am awestruck by the number of contacts I have made during my time as a UK student.  In addition to the phenomenal people named above, I have been able to make many professional contacts.  Another great aspect of being a student at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture is that students are encouraged to participate in internships.  As part of my internship this past summer, I studied how biotechnological traits incorporated into corn performed under field conditions, used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze research data, presented these findings at a conference at the end of my internship, and was involved in other aspects of corn field research.  The experience I had was excellent and has further prompted me to study plant breeding and genetics in graduate school. 

Plus, there are so many exciting and diverse opportunities waiting for graduates in this field.  Plant and soil scientists have the task of creating and using the latest technology to satisfy the world's food, fiber, and fuel needs.  All the while, the earth's population is quickly growing and we must be able to produce these products in a way that is sustainable.  It's great knowing that the research you are working on is going to help other people.

To say the very least, I am excited for my senior year at UK.  I have met many wonderful people already, my classes are fantastic, and I am preparing for what is sure to be a great adventure in grad school.  Of course, I am going to enjoy the adventure of senior year first!

Carrie B.,

Horticulture, Plant & Soil Science Senior

I'm Seeing Blue.....

Gabe, The Wildcat, & Tatum at the Paducah See Blue Preview Night! UK just started a few weeks back and I feel like there is so much that has been going on!  I am one of the UK Ag Ambassadors and we have hit the ground running.  Last week kicked off UK See Blue Preview Night season, and this week ambassadors are busy traveling to and from preview nights as well as enjoying the fun and hard work that comes with Ag Roundup Week! We love having our alumni back on the College of Ag’s campus, as well as talking to potential Wildcats! Speaking of talking to potential wildcats, my fellow ambassador, Gabe, and I, as well as our fabulous and fearless leader Jason Headrick (AKA- Director of Student Relations for the College of Ag), traveled to Preview Night last week in Paducah, KY. Hailing from Murray, I loved getting to speak to students back in the wonderful Western part of our state. Sometimes I find that students in Western Kentucky are a little more intimidated by UK, since it’s quite the distance from home. I was scared to venture four hours away from home (and into a different time zone!) at first too, but once I started taking classes in the College of Ag I found my home away from home. Not only have I made some great friendships, the College of Ag always has opportunities to get involved- whether it be Block and Bridle, Collegiate FFA, Ag Student Council, or MAT Club (plus many, many more!). We have ambassadors involved in all of the clubs I mentioned, and I think that really helps us relate to future wildcats. It’s easy to dispel the myths that UK is too big or too far, when our average class size is 25 in the College of Ag, and everywhere you go you see a familiar face. I’ve also been gifted with some very neat opportunities through the College of Ag- like getting to meet Leadership Expert John Maxwell through Grace Gorrell’s Leadership Development class. Students in the College of Ag have also even heard from our famous basketball coach, John Calipari!  The Ag Ambassadors were even able to present him with some chili for lunch! The family atmosphere and wonderful opportunities have truly made my three years in the College of Ag at UK great. As I start my fourth and final year, I can only hope that future Wildcats can take full advantage of the opportunities I’ve been given. I love sharing my feelings about our big family over at the College with potential students. If the UK Crew is coming to a town near you (and I bet they are!), come out and say hello, and ask the Ag Ambassadors why they love UK Ag so much! Tatum Public Service & Leadership Senior UK See Blue Preview Night Schedule