** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** IN OCTOBER OF 2016, THE WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCED A NEW INITIATIVE CALLED AMERICA THE BOUNTIFUL FOCUSED ON INCREASING AND DIVERSIFYING THE U.S. AGRICULTURE WORKFORCE (WHITE HOUSE, 2016). THIS INITIATIVE CHARGED AGRICULTURAL LEADERS TO KEEP PACE WITH THE DYNAMIC COMPLEXITY OF AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION NECESSARY TO ADDRESS GLOBAL CHALLENGES. THE WHITE HOUSE POSTULATES THAT FALLING BEHIND IN AGRICULTURE IS A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY (WHITE HOUSE, 2016).ACCORDING TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (2019), OVERALL EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENTISTS IS PROJECTED TO GROW BY 7% FROM 2016-2026. IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, AN AVERAGE OF NEARLY 58,000 HIGH-SKILL AGRICULTURAL AND RELATED JOB OPENINGS ARE EXPECTED ANNUALLY IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH ONLY ABOUT 35,000 GRADUATES IN FOOD, AGRICULTURE, RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES, AND THE ENVIRONMENT TO FILL THE POSITIONS (USDA, N.D.). ONLY 61% OF THE PROJECTED AGRICULTURE JOBS WILL BE FILLED BY GRADUATES WITH AGRICULTURAL-RELATED DEGREES. BECAUSE OF THIS, EMPLOYERS WILL FIND IT DIFFICULT TO FIND QUALIFIED GRADUATES IN MANY AGRICULTURAL AREAS FORCING THEM TO FILL THE REMAINING 39% WITH NON-AGRICULTURAL DEGREE CANDIDATES, CHALLENGING THE PREPARATION AND COMPETENCE OF THE AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE (USDA, N.D.). IN ADDITION, EMPLOYERS WILL SEEK OUT A DIVERSE WORKFORCE TO REFLECT SOCIETY AND POSITION THEMSELVES IN A GLOBAL MARKET (USDA, N.D.).THE AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES PROFESSIONAL INTERNSHIPS IN RESEARCH AND EXTENSION (ASPIRE) ENGAGES UNDERGRADUATES IN AGRICULTURAL-RELATED ISSUES SPECIFIC TO RESEARCH AND EXTENSION WITH MENTORSHIP FROM FACULTY WITHIN LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY'S (LSU) AGCENTER. OVERALL, ASPIRE ENDEAVORS TO BETTER DEVELOP A MORE COMPETENT AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. ASPIRE'S OBJECTIVES ARE TO: 1) DEVELOP UNDERGRADUATE'S KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 2) ENCOURAGE UNDERGRADUATES TO PURSUE ADVANCED DEGREES IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES; AND 3) EXPAND THE DIVERSITY OF THE AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE THROUGH STRATEGIC RECRUITING AND MENTORING OF UNDERREPRESENTED AND DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS, STRENGTHENING AND EXPANDING COLLABORATIONS AMONG PARTNERING AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS.TARGETED RECRUITMENT OF INTERNS WILL TAKE PLACE ON THE CAMPUSES OF GRAMBLING UNIVERSITY, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY A & M - BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY - ALEXANDRIA, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY - BATON ROUGE, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY - NEW ORLEANS, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY - SHREVEPORT, AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES INCLUDING BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, CENTRAL LOUISIANA TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AND LOUISIANA DELTA COMMUNITY COLLEGE.GIVEN MOST STUDENTS AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES DO NOT HAVE THE OPTION TO MAJOR IN AGRICULTURE, ASSOCIATE DEGREES THAT ALIGN WITH AND CAN BE TRANSFERRED INTO AN AGRICULTURE MAJOR WILL BE CONSIDERED.BASED ON AN APPLICATION AND INTERVIEW, ASPIRE INTERNS WILL BE MATCHED WITH A SCREENED MENTOR FOR A 10 WEEK SUMMER INTERNSHIP THAT KICKS OFF WITH A MENTOR & INTERN ORIENTATION.THE INTERN WILL THEN PARTICIPATE IN ONLINE CAREER DEVELOPMENT TRAINING SESSIONS, NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES, ONLINE AG CAREER HIGHLIGHTS, JOB SHADOWING, AND A FINAL POSTER PRESENTATION ON THEIR EXPERIENCE.THE ASPIRE EVALUATION PLAN IS A MULTI-PRONG APPROACH THAT WILL FOCUS ON INTERNS AND THE CONTEXT WITHIN WHICH THE INTERNSHIPS OCCUR. AN OBJECTIVES-ORIENTED APPROACH WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH A PROGRAM'S OBJECTIVES ARE REACHED (FITZPATRICK, SANDERS, & WORTHEN, 2004). ASPIRE WILL FOCUS ON EVALUATING THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM, AS WELL AS THE PARTICIPANT OUTCOMES. THE EVALUATION INSTRUMENTS WILL ALIGN WITH THE PROJECT LOGIC MODEL. A CENSUS OF THE INTERNS AND MENTORS IN THE ASPIRE PROGRAM WILL BE SURVEYED. STUDY APPROVAL WILL BE ADMINISTERED THROUGH THE LSU AGCENTER INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD. PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY WILL BE MAINTAINED BY THE INVESTIGATORS. UNIVERSITY ARCHIVAL DATA AND MENTOR AND INTERN SURVEYS WILL BE USED TO EXAMINE PROGRAM CONTEXT AND IMPROVEMENT.THE ASPIRE INTERNS WILL BE TRACKED THROUGH THE GRANT PERIOD UP TO GRADUATION TO UNDERSTAND THE TRAJECTORIES OF STUDENTS WHO COMPLETE THESE UNDERGRADUATE INTERNSHIPS. A POST-GRADUATE EXIT SURVEY WILL ASSESS INTERNS' POST-GRADUATION PLANS (I.E., EMPLOYMENT OR POST-BACCALAUREATE DEGREE) USING SURVEY MONKEY. INTERN JOURNALS WILL BE COMPLETED DURING THE WEEKLY FACULTY MENTOR EVALUATION OF INTERNS. FLIP GIRD, AN ONLINE REFLECTION PLATFORM, WILL BE USED FOR JOURNALING WITH PROMPTING QUESTIONS AND A FREE WRITING SPACE THAT PROBE INTERNS' UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CLASSROOM CONCEPTS AND THEIR REAL-WORLD INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE.THE ASPIRE EXPERIENCE WILL BE EVALUATED FROM THE INTERNS' AND MENTORS' PERSPECTIVES IN THE EXIT SURVEY DEPLOYED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE ASPIRE INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE. THIS DESCRIPTIVE DATA WILL BE USED FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TO ENHANCE THE ASPIRE EXPERIENCE. THE INTERN WILL EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF THE INTERNSHIP BY RATING A WIDE RANGE OF ATTRIBUTES. BASED ON THE EVALUATION RESULTS, DATA DRIVEN DECISIONS WILL BE MADE TO RETAIN MENTORS.THE SHORT-TERM IMPACT OF ASPIRE WILL FOCUS ON GREATER AWARENESS OF AGRICULTURAL CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, INCREASED CONFIDENCE, COMMUNICATION, AND PROFESSIONALISM, AS WELL AS THEIR ABILITY TO WORK AS A TEAM. THE END GOAL OF ASPIRE IS TO IMPACT THE DIVERSITY AND QUALITY OF PROFESSIONALS ENTERING THE AGRICULTURAL CAREER PIPELINE.

Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge LA

Investigators