NCTA Welcomes Ag Visitors
March 8, 2016
Dean's Column by Ron Rosati, PhD
The welcome mat is always out at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture here in Curtis!
And, since we are an agricultural college, it’s common for our students to also clean the soles of their cowboy boots on the boot scrapers at the building entrances before crossing that mat!
Such was the scene last weekend as our Aggie Rodeo Team hosted cowboys and rodeo visitors to a bull dogging clinic by two-time world champion steer wrestler Dean Gorsuch of Gering. Plenty of action at the Livestock Teaching Center arena kept the campus and community lively for three days. We enjoy these teaching and hosting opportunities for our students.
On Monday, our Student Services team welcomed a record attendance during NCTA’s Discovery Day as high school youth and their family members toured campus and learned about college life here at NCTA.
I’m told our Food Service staff fed about 145 guests at noon. I am grateful to all who attended and our terrific staff and students who hosted these guests at Discovery Day. We will be seeing many of the students back on campus when Fall classes begin in August.
Our small-town, welcoming atmosphere is a huge bonus to students from rural areas. They feel right at home with the campus and the Curtis community. A big thank you to the residents of Curtis for accommodating our visitors!
Our Welcome Center team looks forward this week also to hosting some international visitors from Panama, here to study our model of post-secondary education and technical agriculture.
We were honored to receive a request a few months back from Dr. Darío Solís with Texas Tech University’s Office of the Vice President for Research. Dr. Solis, who is a native of Panama, is coordinating the Panamanian delegation’s visit to the United States as they explore models for agricultural education and workforce training.
The eight member team represents the government of Panama from two groups: The Ministry of Agricultural Development and the Ministry of the President of Panama’s Secretariat for Competitiveness and Economic Issues.
The NCTA faculty and I will be sharing with them NCTA’s model of teaching and provide suggestions as they explore development of their technical colleges in Panama. And, of course, while our guests are here for a few days they will see Nebraska agriculture up close around the Curtis community in addition to a tour of our sister campus in North Platte at the University of Nebraska’s West Central Research and Extension Center.
We are fortunate to host many guests to campus. We incorporate discussions with our students into these visits. Leadership opportunities and interactions for our students with industry partners and campus guests is another component of our education here at NCTA.
Stop by to visit NCTA at any time, or view the programs and clubs at ncta.unl.edu. You are invited to join this weekend’s activities in Curtis and McCook for the Ranch Horse Team, Stock Dog Club and Rodeo Team. The calendar below lists the details.
Upcoming NCTA Events:
March 10-11 – Sonya Walls Barrel Racing Clinic, LTC Arena
March 11-13 – Punchy in Pink Spring Round-up Ranch Horse Show, Kiplinger Arena, McCook
March 12 – NCTA Stock Dog Trial and Clinic, LTC Arena
March 18-20 – NCTA Beef Cattle AI School, Campus Red Barn
March 19-27 – Student Spring Break, Business Offices Open
March 27-30 – Higher Learning Commission Accreditation Site Visit
NCTA Mission:
The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is devoted to a statewide mission of preparing students for successful careers in agriculture, veterinary technology, food and related industries. The college provides open access to innovative technical education resulting in associate degrees, certificates, diplomas and other credentials.