Salsa, sun, studying
Over spring break, the Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) USDA Agriculture team took a trip to Puerto Rico.
Here they learned many different things that left each student with an informational experience.
This trip would not have happened without the necessary funding.
“This is a logistical feat pulled off mostly by the PI on this USDA grant, Dr. Velez and with help from Dr. Donato and support from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and Agriculture Deans, Dr. Guerrero and Nelson, respectively,” Dr. Rudolf Bohm said. “It involved setting up visits to multiple locations as an experience and for potential jobs in the USDA.”
With trips in the past, it was important for the agriculture department to keep this trip going for future students.
“This is more directed towards experiences that pipeline TAMUK students in Biology and Agriculture into jobs in USDA supported fields,” Dr. Bohn said.
Being a senior and preparing to graduate in May, senior Mireya Lopez looks back at the trip as a great experience.
“I know this program has been running with TAMUK for the past couple of years and after last year there was still enough funds from the grant to take another group this year, so we are all grateful and excited to be part of the USDA/TAMUK Agriculture team and get to travel to Puerto Rico,” Lopez said.
“The biggest takeaway from the trip is to always be open minded and be willing to try new things because you never know what opportunities could open up to you, in life in general or your career.”
In Puerto Rico, the team learned about the wildlife of the island country and how different they were from the species they are used to seeing in Texas and helped them gain knowledge of a new ecosystem.
“A couple of things that was very cool was the bioluminescence bay,” senior Analysa Munoz said. “The bay at night had glitters in the water when you would move because of the tiny plankton at the surface of the water and another interesting experience was the wildlife management tour that we did at the airport.”