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INVESTIGATOR: McCrary-Quarles, A. R.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
ORANGEBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA 29117

CYPRESS III: COMBINING YOUTH, PASSION, AND RESOURCES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE STUDIES

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: CYPRESS III supports the need to incorporate K-12 outreach programs to expose students to agricultural topics to generate interest in agricultural careers (The National U.S. Research Council, 2009). This proposal seeks to expose middle school students, from underrepresented groups within surrounding rural Orangeburg County School Districts, to agriculture-related careers. In addition, this grant willestablish and/or enhance the existing pipeline tohigh schools that support preparation for Ag-related career choices. Previously, the project targeted students attending only five middle schools within District 5. Our purposed project will utilize our existing successful program to cover more territory by including five additional middle schools within District 3 and District 4, which also feed into Technology Centers and offers courses at the high school level.Our project exposes minority youth to agricultural, environmental science, and natural resources related careers via (1) 4-H After-School programs, (2) summer camps, and (3) Junior MANRRS activities. Students enrolled at the three Technology Centers within District 3, 4, and 5 are exposed to updated interactive Ag curriculum. In addition, teachersand parents are able to enhancetheir knowledge of agriculture-related careers, college preparation, scholarships, and available resources necessary to support students' interest towardpursuing careers in the agricultural workforce.

OBJECTIVES: CYPRESS III grant seeks to expose middle school students, from underrepresented groups within surrounding rural Orangeburg County School Districts, to agriculture-related careers, in addition to establishing and/or enhancing the existing pipeline to the high school that supports preparation for Ag-related career choices.CYPRESS III objectives:1. To increase minority youth exposure to agriculture-related careers;2. To develop informed public regarding agriculture careers among teachers and parents;3. To increase student recruitment to SC State University in agricultural related fields;4. To enhance Ag career awareness among students and faculty;5. To enhance Ag curriculum offered at the Technology Centers;6. To develop an effective "career model" for recruiting minority youth into theAgricultural workforce.

APPROACH: 1) Conduct 4H Programs in Orangeburg County School District 3, 4, and 5 during the Fall and Spring semesters.2) Conduct Summer Camps every June.3) Enhance and support the Ag-Science curriculum at the Technology Centers.4) Host JR MANRRS activities.4) Participate in campus event (i.e., workshops, conferences, etc.) to promote awareness among faculty, staff, and students.5) Conduct parent and teacher workshops.

PROGRESS: 2020/03 TO 2021/03
Target Audience:The CYPRESS III grant seeks to expose middle school students from underrepresented groups within surrounding rural Orangeburg County School District to agriculture-related careers. Also, this grant worked withhigh school students in preparation for Ag-related majors in college. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Undergraduate (2) and graduate students (2) working on the CYPRESS Team are members of MANRRS; however, they could not attend any conferences for professional development opportunities during 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Project Coordinator and Graduate Students have received training to perform the 4H program with middle schools, the Ag-Curricular Enhancement at the high school level, and training as Camp Counselors. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?PI and co-PI published an article in 2018: McCrary-Quarles, A & Mathis, Jr., C. (2018). Discovering Agriculture-Related Careers through CYPRESS. Professional Agricultural Workers Journal Online, 5, (2). Plans still include submitting another article for publication and presenting the result at a conference before March 2022 (if possible). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The CYPRESS III Grant cycle has been extended until March 2022. 4H Programs - continue with the program until May 2021. Ag-Curriculum Enhancement -no students enrolled. JR MANRRS - planning to host a virtual - Ag Day" (April 2021) for middle school and high school students to explore majors relating to agriculture. Summer Camp - scheduled for June 2021. Parent Workshop - planning for June 2021. Teacher Workshop - will not be scheduled this year. Teachers are too busy with virtual learning. The remaining of the year will be devoted to closing out the grant,generating reports, presenting ata conference, and trying to submit a manuscript regarding lessons learned and results. Participate in virtual"Career Fairs" - 1 scheduled for March 15,, 2021 atElloree Elementary, SC.

IMPACT: 2020/03 TO 2021/03
What was accomplished under these goals? I. Objective 1: To increase minority youth exposure to Agriculture-related careers. 4H PROGRAMF Focus on exposing students to a diverse array of Ag-related careers via innovative, hands-on lesson plans conducted twice a month for approximately 30 - 45 minutes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 4H program has been undergoing a few challenges. From April - May 2020, students were sent home and received packets to complete work, including the post-evaluation form for the 4H program. Only five (5) students returned the post-evaluations, even though 188 students were enrolled in the program before the pandemic and completed the pre-evaluation forms. 4H Demographic Data from September 2019 - April 2020: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 188 students were enrolled in the 4H program and completed pre-evaluation. However, only five (5) students completed post-evaluation, and we cannot compare the data. Pre-Evaluation Results: Total number = 188 - representing10 middle schools within Orangeburg County School District. Males:78 (42%); females110 (58%) femalescompletedpre-survey. a) Majorityplan to attend college: 152 (81%) b) Like to major inAg-related career: 50 (27%); whereas 80 (42%) of students are undecided. c) Majoritywould like to know more about Ag-related career: 109 (58%) d) Family member or friend working in Ag field: 71(38%); whereas 76 (49%) did not know. Post-Evaluation Results: Total number = 5 - representing only 2 schools Males1 (20%) maleand females 4 (80%) femalescompletedpost-evaluation. MajorityAfrican Americans (4, 80%). a) Majorityplan to attend college: 5 (100%) b) Like to major inAg-related career: 4 (80%) c) Majoritywould like to know more about Ag-related career: 4 (80%) d) Family member or friend working in Agfield: 4 (80%) Starting Fall 2020, the CYPRESS Team revised the 4H program from a face-to-face format to a virtual learning platform. Since students were working virtually with teachers, the team did not want to overwhelm the students with a lot of information. So, the team created monthly five (5) virtual presentations for students to keep them engaged with the 4H program. Only 4 out of 10 schools wanted to continue with the program, with 24 students enrolled. However, only 12 out of the 24 students completed the pre-evaluation. So, teachers and guidance counselors received the YouTube link to share with students enrolled in the program. Each virtual presentation was approximately 15 -20 minutes. The team also utilized Instagram to attract more students and share pictures, links, etc., regarding the 4H program. As of March 2020, there were over 300 views for YouTube (with 6 subscribers, and 104 followers on Instagram. Program evaluations will be conduct in May 2021 for participants enrolled in the program and virtually through YouTube and Instagram. Ag-CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENT Twenty-four (24) students from two High Schools/Technology Center participated in the program. The CYPRESS Team met with students from September 2019 - March 2020 (once per month) for approximately 1 to 1 ½ hours. Students (grades 9th - 12th) were exposed to the various topics: Introduction to Agriculture and related careers; Internships and scholarships; Nutrition; Resume Writing; Interviewing Skills; Professional Attire; College Preparation and Admission process; and College life. Also, the CYPRESS team along with Mr. Travis Johnson (USDAProgram Liaison) spoke with junior and senior students from O-W Technology Center, Edisto High School, and Lake Marion Technology Center regarding the upcoming scholarship opportunity at SC State University - 1890 Agriculture InnovationScholarshipProgram (funded by USDA/NIFA). This scholarship supports the pipeline for students interested in Ag-related careers and increase the number of qualified professionals who will lead in the food, fiber, agriculture and human sciences fields in the future. Applications for the scholarship were distributed to students, and follow-up conversations were held at each site. Currently, this scholarship is available to students majoring in Agribusiness, Nutrition, and Food Management. During March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the team did not conduct a program evaluation due to students not on campus. The team and guidance counselors were unable to contact students. At the start of fall 2020, the CYPRESS Team did not have any participants at the high school level. Students were virtual and the Ag-track was not being offered. CYPRESS III SUMMER CAMP During the summer of 2020, the CYPRESS team could not host the summer camp due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the SC State University being closed. Summer camp tentatively scheduled for June 2021. JR MANRRS Ag-Day 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team will schedule a virtual Ag-Day presentation for middle school students in April 2021. Objective 2: To develop an informed public regarding agricultural careers among teachers and parents. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Parent and Teacher Workshops were canceled for 2020. However, a Parent Workshop is tentatively scheduled for May/June 2021. Objective 3: To increase student recruitment to SC State University in Agricultural related fields. As of fall 2019, six (6) undergraduate students from the CYPRESS cohort (who have participated in 1 or more CYPRESS Summer Camps/4H programs) are now attending SC State University. Since we do not have a College of Agriculture, their majors vary from biology, nutrition, business, physical education, etc. Throughout the past ten years, three (3) students working on the grant have obtained Masters in Agribusiness from SC State University; and two (2) students will be attending Ph.D. programs in Agriculture Education in fall 2021. Objective 4: To enhance agricultural career awareness among students and faculty. The PI continues to incorporate Ag-related topics, and career opportunities within classes taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Also, information is shared whenever a platform is available. Graduate Students working with the CYPRESS team have attended conferences to become aware of various careers, hear about available scholarships, internships, etc., to share while communicating with their peers on campus. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected travels to various conferences during 2020-2021. Objective 5: To enhance the Ag curriculum offered at the Technology Centers. The high school curriculum has been enhanced to introduce topics such as Internships and scholarships; Resume Writing; Interview Skills; Soft Skills; Professional Attire; Test-taking tips; College Preparation and the Admission process; and College life. The problem lies in finding Agriculture teachers to teach the course. However, we have the students' interest; however, the Ag-track has been eliminated from most high school curriculums. Also, the school district has only one agriculture teacher at the high school level. Objective 6: To develop an effective "career model" for recruiting minority youth into the Agricultural workforce. We continueutilizing the CYPRESS Career Model because it is anuseful model for increasing awareness and exposure underrepresented youth to agriculture. However, it takes time to see the effects of the CYPRESS Programs regarding recruiting minorities in agriculture field.Some students find it hard to connect the dots in Ag-related careers without having extended exposure, such as internships and job shadowing, which is necessary for increasing the workforce. The Agriculture Innovation Scholarship Program, a funded grant ($2.25M) through USDA/NIFA,willprovide the necessary experiences for SC State college students to pursue Ag-related careers.

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2020/03 TO 2021/03
No publications reported this period.