Introduction:
So far in Virginia Tech’s Governor’s School for Agriculture, the 100 students have hit the ground running. In the three full days we have attended, we have sat through hours of lectures, attended communications classes, and been assigned a hefty project to complete with total strangers. My group has been assigned the task of proposing a solution to childhood obesity while focusing on the parental aspect of the problem. As it has only been 3 days, the only thing that has been accomplished is the establishment of ground rules, and some basic research. With that being said, I’m sure that there will be much more to follow.

Loving the Learning?
Although learning in summer is not ideal, the Governor’s school has really expanded my knowledge of the field of agriculture. Before being subjected to the daily five hours of lectures and discussions about the topic, I had no idea that only 2% of the American population was directly involved/employed in agriculture. Without this experience, I would have no idea about that stat. In addition, I truly understood how complex the genetics side of agriculture is. The lectures in plant science have taught me the various different methods of gene editing in order to produce crops with favorable traits. Many of these methods are long and laborious, and only have a success rate of fractions of a percent. This knowledge along with many others are things that the average consumer doesn’t know, which drives a wedge between producers and consumers, along with hindering the vital long term improvement that the field of agriculture needs.

Conclusion:
With the learning that has come with the Governor’s school, has also come some surprising fun. I believed the school would be all fun and no play. Fortunately, I was wrong, and there have been plenty of free time to play sports and hang out with friends. So far my experience has been positive.

This blog post was written by Srinjoy Sarkar Dey, a 2019 Virginia Governor School for Agriculture student.

Edited by: Dami Alegbeleye, a 2019 Governor’s School leader