Celebrate Summer '23

Aug. 16, 2023

Celebrate Summer '23

By Andela Taylor/NCTA news

Before kicking off the 2023-24 academic year in just a few days, Aggies, faculty, and staff say goodbye to a glorious summer on campus at NCTA in Curtis and at the beloved Leu Ranch twenty minutes west in Hayes County. These past months were filled with fun, albeit hard work, many notable accomplishments, and exciting announcements to celebrate.

NCTA Dean Larry Gossen, Ph.D., and Associate Dean Jennifer McConville, Ed.D. extend their sincere appreciation to the Curtis community and the staff, inviting all local and regional citizens to a celebratory picnic at the student union, "The Barn," on Sunday, August 20 from 5 to 7 p.m., providing an opportunity to welcome new students.

Dean Gossen extends his thanks to area residents, local businesses, churches, volunteers, and service organizations whose ongoing support has been a cornerstone of NCTA's success.

He shares, "The robust network of public schools, health providers, government leaders, emergency services, law enforcement, and educational services in the region is essential to our student's success and happiness during their college experience at NCTA. As enrollments decline, particularly among community colleges, we realize how our small, rural place sets us apart. As I said in a prior column, the people make all the difference to our students."

Throughout the summer, NCTA's facilities, maintenance, grounds, and food service employees worked diligently on a host of projects and plans while providing excellent hospitality to a range of visitors, from ag teachers gaining continuing education to younger kids at a Critter Camp.

Associate Dean McConville shared her gratitude for the hardworking personnel responsible for organizing events, managing budgets, providing services, and ensuring health and safety on campus.

"Each passing week unfolds distinct challenges, and circumstances arise that take a dedicated and caring team to navigate. We are immensely fortunate for the flexibility of our staff to help each other achieve our goals," McConville said.

The administrators commended their Nebraska Extension partners for impactful contributions to successful county fairs across the state. The Frontier County team of Kathy Burr, extension educator; Mandy Contrerez, extension staff; and Haley Robb, summer intern, are applauded for their efforts in orchestrating back-to-back fairs and a mind-boggling calendar of successful events.

Gossen and McConville jointly urge everyone to visit NCTA, saying, "We hope those who have not visited the NCTA campus recently will come and see for yourself how it is evolving to be a tremendous agricultural asset of our region. Agriculture and animal health education is our mission; student success is our goal. More students means more potential new citizens to maintain our vibrant economy in this corner of the state and beyond."

For more details, visit the ncta.unl.edu website for news and events, and follow our social media to view all the sights of summer '23.

Part of the University of Nebraska system, the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is a two-year institution with a statewide mission of preparing students for successful careers in agriculture, veterinary technology, and related industries. NCTA is known for its affordable tuition, high job-placement rate for its graduates, and student teams' success in competitive activities, including crops judging, ranch horse events, livestock judging, shotgun sports, stock dog trials, and intercollegiate rodeo. The college is consistently ranked as one of the best two-year schools in the nation.

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