USDA Celebrates Students as They Return to School

Once again, the summer break came and went in a blink of an eye. As we enter the time of year when students return to the classroom, all of us at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offer encouragement at every step of the journey.

At the USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE), we take pride in our role of connecting communities to the wealth of educational resources available through USDA programs. This empowers students in K-12, college and beyond, ensuring they have the information they need to succeed.

USDA's Agriculture in the Classroom Program helps improve agricultural literacy, awareness, knowledge, and appreciation for more than 60,000 K-12 teachers and their nearly 5 million students. Another example is 4-H, USDA's flagship positive youth development and education program, which empowers young people to lead for a lifetime. For students interested in science, AgDiscovery is a free summer outreach program to help teenagers explore careers in agricultural sciences.

USDA offers various scholarships and internship opportunities, such as the Pathways Program, which provides internship and career placement opportunities for high-school, undergraduate, and graduate students.

OPPE has dedicated staff around the country to connect communities and institutions with USDA educational resources. USDA Liaison Ruby De La Garza (University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley) offers advice to help students start off the school year right. "Networking can help students find mentors, gain valuable career advice, refine communication skills, and possibly lead to an internship or job opportunity," she said. "Start building connections by attending school events, joining a student organization, attending career fairs, and creating an online profile on a professional networking website."

Willette Squire, OPPE executive assistant, urges students to tune out distractions, and write a list of realistic goals to accomplish before the end of the school year. "Most importantly, look for the positive in all negative and challenging experiences, and have fun!" she said.

USDA strives to foster relationships between students in the classroom and the community by partnering with student organizations and providing a range of resources to help youth meet and exceed their potential. USDA also offers employment opportunities for students and recent graduates to work in agriculture, science, nutrition and more. Learn more at www.usda.gov/youth.