by Tara Roberts

Siska De Winkle is passionate about agricultural education.

“I think that ag is one of the most important parts of the economy,” she says. “We’re not just using our animals to make money. We love our animals.”

This is the message De Winkle, a senior agribusiness major, wants to send as a member of UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) Ambassadors. Together with 17 other CALS students from a variety of majors, she is spending this semester promoting the college’s programs to high school students in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, earning two credits and plenty of professional experience.

Conrad Arnzen (above) shares insider information about college life with high schoolers
in Pasco, Washington (top and bellow). Student uses a remote control to respond to a quiz.
CALS Ambassadors for 2006 strike a playful pose with adviser John Foltz (center back).
Photos by Mark LaMoreaux

De Winkle and fellow ambassador Mary Barstow spent a few days in September visiting seven classrooms in Fruitland and Nampa. Barstow is a third-year ambassador and a senior in crop science and agricultural communications.

“I love going down, talking to the schools, and  promoting ag,” De Winkle says. “But the truth is, I love working with my friends (who have the same passion).”

CALS Ambassadors began two decades ago under then-Associate Dean Larry Branen, says John Foltz, current associate dean. Since then, it’s developed into a program with the potential to reach hundreds of high school students throughout the Pacific Northwest. “It’s a recruiting tool for our college,” Foltz says. “The idea is just to get (high school students) to think about higher education, the University of Idaho, and our college.”

CALS Student Recruitment Coordinator Kim Nelson, who took the program’s reins last June, says ambassadors benefit  the college, high schools, and themselves.“It increases their self-confidence,” she says. “It provides  an opportunity to learn teamwork, accountability, and responsibility.”

Giving the inside scoop on campus life

All ambassadors participate in college activities such as Ag Days, the national FFA conference, and Vandal Friday, but their main job is visiting high schools. On presentation trips, ambassadors share information about CALS and UI, give students the inside scoop on college life, and give away prizes such as Frisbees and water bottles with the college logo and URL.

Many presentations use the Classroom Performance System, the “clicker” program. Recently introduced by Nelson, it allows ambassadors to host an interactive quiz game, during which   students answer questions about UI and CALS.

Sending college students with good  attitudes to high schools helps students feel comfortable asking about college, Nelson says. The ambassadors are “enthusiastic, positive people just trying to help others.” And they’re  credible—the voice of        experience. “You’re interacting with high schoolers constantly, and you have to keep it interesting and fun,” De Winkle says.

Idaho high schools boast more than 80 agricultural science and technology programs, all potential places for ambassador visits. “Initial targets are students interested in agriculture,” Foltz says. Today’s program has expanded to include students interested in other CALS departments, such as family and consumer sciences, nutrition, and  microbiology.

To get the students in Nampa and Fruitland thinking about major options within CALS, Barstow asked who had ever eaten a Nutrigrain bar or Schwan’s ice cream. Her answers: Jeff Culbertson, a former UI professor of food science and toxicology, helped develop the Nutrigrain bar while working for the Kellogg Corporation, and student Clarisse Vaury developed a piña colada sherbet flavor during her 2004 internship at Schwan’s.

Third-year ambassador Conrad Arnzen, a senior in agricultural              economics, has learned about all the college’s departments through the program. He enjoys working as an ambassador because he had a rough transition into college life. “I like helping high school students, to ease their entry into college,” he says. Being an ambassador is also a chance for CALS students to learn and grow.

During weekly meetings, ambassadors are quizzed on vital statistics such admission costs and how to apply for federal aid, so they can answer any questions thrown at them. They also practice their presentations, which focus on activities, admissions, financial aid, living options, departments and majors, and UI as a whole.

Ashley Beck, a sophomore in dietetics and family and consumer sciences, says being an ambassador  has improved her public speaking skills, confidence, and ability to work well in a group. She finds it “almost like working in an office.”             

Challenges of missing school

Being an ambassador is not without challenges. Some students are unable to participate because of other time commitments. Ambassadors have to make 10 high school visits a year, and managing the time is not always easy, though students say it’s worth it.

“You have to skip class to go on  visits,” Arnzen says. Senior agricultural education major Nick Usabel had to drop the program this year because it competed too much with his academics. While many professors are okay with students missing class, it’s still  difficult to catch up, De Winkle says. Plus, there’s the added challenge of finding a good time for high schools to host presentations. “They’re just as busy as we are,” Barstow says.

Josette Nebeker, a junior in animal science, will be back next year for sure. “It’s a great program. I love the University of Idaho and I want to see it, and especially CALS, be successful.”

While CALS Ambassadors is the only program of its kind at UI, agricultural colleges across the nation have similar recruiting systems. Last year two ambassadors attended the National Agriculture Ambassador Conference. A few will attend this year’s conference in the spring.

All the ambassadors’ hard work is paying off for CALS. “If you look at enrollment over the last 20 years, it’s been good. We’ve had increases,” Foltz says. “Ambassadors have helped with that, I’m sure.”

Contact Kim Nelson at kanelson@uidaho.edu.

Editor’s Note:  Author Tara Roberts, Laclede, Idaho, is a senior English major and editor-in-chief of the Argonaut.

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