Like most students, my desired career path changed several times from kindergarten to college application day. From a teacher to a nutritionist, I eventually decided I wanted to pursue a career in communications where I could interact with other people.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The first thing I notice when we step through white double doors of the growers’ house is that every one of the 1,200 or so chickens in this enormous room has stopped whatever it was doing to stare at us. A few of the birds step closer, peering at our legs as if they want to peck our shoes. But they don’t. They’re just curious. Chickens, I realize, are gawkers.
Now in veterinary school at U of I, animal lover Jacob Dalen got his start in the Department of Animal Sciences' pre-vet track, and minored in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. This week's 5 Questions Friday looks back at Dalen's time at ACES.
Where did you grow up? Do you have an agriculture background? If so, what did that look like?
URBANA, Ill. – A new University of Illinois program will train beginner specialty crop growers in every aspect of farm operation and management. The year-long Illinois Small Farm Apprenticeship Program offers new farmers opportunities to learn by doing and to deepen that experiential knowledge with lessons from faculty experts in soil science, pest management, and more.
URBANA, Ill. – Schwab Advisor Services in partnership with the Charles Schwab Foundation has made a generous donation to the Women, Power, and Money Program for Financial Planning at the University of Illinois. The grant provides funding to create and sustain the infrastructure needs of the program until 2025. The funds will contribute to enhancing the course, creating a public-facing lecture series, building course materials, and bringing in guest speakers.
Illinois students have been making impacts and connections in South Africa for nearly two decades through study tours led by Jan Brooks, instructor in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) Department of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS).
When most people are just getting home from their workdays, I’m about to start mine. I am a researcher studying the breeding behavior of the Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus), a cryptic bird that is primarily active after sunset as it forages on the wing for moths. So – for the summer, at least – I also am nocturnal.
URBANA, Ill. – Right now it’s infant formula, but food recalls are seemingly always in the news. When recalls happen, industries and supply chains can slam to a halt, causing everything from minor inconvenience to illness to, in the case of infant formula, widespread food insecurity for the youngest in our population.
Lauren Lynch is one of 16 Illinois students and recent graduates to win Fulbright grants to pursue international education, research, and teaching experiences around the world this coming year. Lynch is completing her doctorate in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and in wildlife and fisheries conservation from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a master’s in natural resource management from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Graduating from the University of Illinois has been a dream of mine since I could remember; I cannot put into words the emotions I felt walking across the stage on graduation day. Those steps signified an accomplishment I’ve been working towards my whole life. Although the journey was coming to an end, it paved the way for a new and unexpected path. Before I talk about that though, I want to start from the beginning of my career.