Internships and outreach improve recruitment, soft skills for agriculture students

“Langston University and Alcorn State University collaborated to foster student workplace potential among high school and undergraduate students”

Internships, open houses and a lot of promotional materials – brochures and short video – have helped a Langston University professor increase interest and career readiness in the agricultural workforce.

Nirodha De Silva, Ph.D., assistant professor of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics at Langston University in Oklahoma, partnered with researchers at Mississippi’s Alcorn State to increase recruitment in agriculture and food nutrition by vetting the interest level, and training, of undergraduate and high school students.

The program has worked: So far, according to De Silva, Langston and Alcorn State students have obtained 33 combined internships, nearly a 54 percent increase from the previous year.

De Silva’s project, “Enhancing Student Recruitment and Workforce Development Through Partnerships and Engagements,” has two primary goals: to foster student workforce potential by networking with community-based and professional organizations; and to support recruitment through strategic partnerships and outreach efforts with high schools in selected urban and rural areas.

“Our overall goal is to increase the number of graduates entering food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences (FANH) careers or graduate programs,” said De Silva. “Through the collaboration and partnerships with high schools and professional bodies, this project will simultaneously improve student recruitment and enhance workforce readiness for large numbers of minorities and other students in FANH sciences who would normally not have the opportunity.”

For the project, Langston University and Alcorn State University recruited partner organizations and companies to provide internships for students during the summer. Partners for this project included the Food on the Move program in Oklahoma; whose mission is to decrease food insecurity; Langston University’s Cooperative Extension division; Alcorn State’s strength training program, as well as Alcorn’s counseling center; food services company Sodexo; and My Brother’s Keeper in Mississippi, a nonprofit aimed at reducing health disparities.

Dorian Carter, an agribusiness major at Langston University, received an internship with Northeastern Oklahoma Farmer’s Market through De Silva’s efforts. For two months, Carter worked alongside market organizer and manager Kwame Mboya.

“I was working alongside Mr. Kwame in the field as he was harvesting and planting different crops,” Carter said. “Then, on Saturdays, we’d go out to the farmer’s market and sell our products.”

Carter rated the internship a “10 out of 10.”

“I met new contacts and developed better soft skills while working at the farmer’s market and in the field,” said Carter. “I expanded my knowledge of planting and harvesting. I also learned teamwork and time management. After I graduate, I see myself working in agribusiness, helping small farmers get their businesses started and working with them to make sure they meet the criteria for programs or grants they want to obtain.”

One hundred high school students were recruited and served by strategic partnerships and effective connections between high schools, Langston’s School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences and Alcorn State, De Silva said. 

“The students improved their soft skills and their general professionalism with the internship opportunities,” she said. “They have told us that they feel more competitive in the job market.”