Colorado and a Camel

Hello readers -- Kira Chaloupka, here!

Well, as usual, I'm a week late, but not a word short. I've got plenty to share from the past few weeks in my Dean's Office Update!

I guess I'll start with spring break. It tends to be one of the best times in Auburn because the sun starts to warm things up outside, flowers start blooming and students are gone. This was a wonderful week to get things done with less distraction and spend a little time outdoors.

But as that week came to an end, the travel began! I had the opportunity to attend PLANET's Student Career Days, which Hilary talks about in her post. The main goal was to conduct some research and research I conducted. With the assistance of Amanda and Hilary, we had over 220 students visit our "Make Your Mark" booth at the career fair. With the terrific turnout I am looking forward to analyzing the data and figuring out what makes a horticulture student tick. Besides all the work, we did have a little fun... Amanda and I drove the roads of Colorado, visited several towns and enjoyed some of the best food I've ever tasted. We visited Golden, home of the Coors Brewery, climbed the peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park, explored the shops of Boulder and navigated our way through Fort Collins. All of this was done with the help of Sally the Subaru. She was a trooper. While our time was well spent in Colorado, we had much to look forward to in return to the Plains.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Make Your Mark booth with Amanda and Hilary

I wasn't a fan of the cold.

What was the last week of March this year? Nothing less than Ag Week! A celebration of Agriculture by the College of Agriculture body through various events hosted for students by students. The week started off with a lecture, featuring a representative from Hormel Foods Monday and an outreach to the University student body was done through Tea & Tie-dye on Tuesday. Wednesday, also known as Hump Day, was the Annual Ag Hill Picnic, with special guest Clyde the Comer Camel. Feasting on fish and chicken or photo op with Clyde, students, faculty, staff and community members had a great time fellowshipping on Comer Lawn. Thursday was a busy one with a breakfast starting at 7:30am (a wakeup call of 4:30am) on the Green Space, which included Alabama products like Poultry Science eggs, Conecuh sausage, and Mary B's biscuits. That evening the second annual Ag Island Games were hosted with competitive games and a chance to hold the title of Ag Island Champions. From Slip-n-slide sponge relays to inch-worm crawls and barn sweeps, the students had good clean fun and it's quite entertaining from the sidelines. Friday has become a day dedicated to youth education and this year the Boys and Girls Clubs were the audience of agriculture education. Saturday wrapped the celebration up with Ag in the Park, a prospective student event revolving around the baseball game. The week may have included early mornings and lots of hard work, it came with the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction because if one person learned anything about agriculture, then the week was a success.

This is a great depiction of us -- Amanda, Sarah and myself

The Student Services staff with Clyde!

We've slowed down a good bit since then, but as I look toward the summer and even farther into the fall I see much more travel... There are five conferences scheduled to be attended this summer and at least four road trips planned for the fall. I will be sure to include those in my updates as my turn rolls around to post. Stay tuned...

KLC