Thank you to Martin Community College for hosting our quarterly meeting focused on Agriscience/Biotechnology! After a few updates and some highlights of the pathway from across the region, we heard from Tyler Bennett, NC Commerce Agricultural Employment Consultant. Tyler shared his love for agriculture, and how he initially wanted to be a farmer, then trained to be an Ag Teacher, before ultimately going into Cooperative Extension and now NC Commerce. While he works closely with local agricultural employers, Tyler is also interested in connecting with local high schools to share information about the industry. You can reach Tyler at tyler.bennett@commerce.nc.gov.

Then we heard from Dr. Tabitha Miller, President of Martin Community College. She shared about their new program in agriculture, and the hopes for a completely sustainable greenhouse in the very near future. You can learn more about this program here.

Finally, we heard from Tami Thurston, Director of the Equine Program. She shared all of the great work that they do to prepare students for a variety of careers in the equine industry. We were impressed by the skills these students are learning, from basic care of the horses to basic care of the facilities and grounds, along with all the technical skills needed in the industry. Many of us joined the optional tour of the horse barns and were able to meet the new colts and pet some of the other horses while seeing first hand what the student summer interns are working on. It was a great meeting and a wonderful tour!