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Exploring Careers with AgDiscovery at Kentucky State University
Julissa '26 Shares Her Experience
Julissa practicing veterinary techniques, photo provided by author
While at Midland, I learned from my fellow peers about a great, and best of all, free, summer program sponsored by the USDA, called AgDiscovery. The program is two weeks with multiple universities to choose from, and each one assists teenagers in exploring the realm of agricultural sciences. This opportunity seemed too good to ignore and I immediately contacted Leah Hebie, our Director of College Counseling, and asked her about it. She encouraged me to pick a program and apply to one that interested me most. There were so many to choose from all across the United States, but the one that I was drawn to most was offered at Kentucky State University, focusing on veterinary science.
All my life, I had known that I wanted to pursue a career in the veterinary field, and I thought that this program could help me narrow down to what exactly I wanted to do. This program was focused on equine medicine, and I was curious to see if I would want to be a large animal veterinarian. The program was around two weeks long, from June 9-22 and would cover all expenses except for the arrival and departure. When I arrived, I was hit with the Kentucky humidity, something I am not familiar with living here in sunny California. But as I drove around town, I couldn’t help but notice the greenery. Almost everywhere I drove, I was surrounded by lush forestry.
Saying goodbye to my mom when she dropped me off wasn’t as bad as I anticipated, since attending Midland as a boarding student has helped me overcome being homesick. I hugged her goodbye, and I sat down to learn about what experiences would await.
Walking around the campus at Kentucky State University, photo provided by author
I was roommates with three other girls, and we quickly became close and decided to embark on this new adventure together. Our first day was the scariest, since we didn’t know how each day would go. We were in a foreign state, and didn’t know much about the land we were exploring. Our first stop was at the Bluegrass Stockyards, which is where cattle get sold off in an auction system for cattle owners to purchase. I recall it smelling like cows. However, it was such a unique experience because we got to go behind the scenes and see how the cattle were sorted: by having people on horses herding them into certain pens and then finally sending them into groups for farmers to purchase them.
As the first week progressed, we had many different activities planned for us, such as small lectures focusing on bacteriology in farm animals, visiting many different horse farms where thoroughbreds are bred for horse derby’s, and even going to the county fair. One thing that I never realized was how expensive horses can be. A mare, specifically, could cost $5 million because of the good genes she can carry, and if the chances of breeding a thoroughbred that can qualify for the derby was high.
Though the program revolved around veterinary science and was full of learning opportunities, we also got chances to do activities that didn’t revolve around veterinary medicine. We got to travel from Frankfort, Kentucky all the way to Atlanta, Georgia! Along the way, we stopped at Louisville Zoo, and I had the rare experience of going behind the scenes and feeding a giraffe. The giant beauty loomed over me, but gently took the piece of lettuce I clutched in my hand. After that, a six-hour drive in the bus awaited us, and I viewed the trees as they whirled past me.
Giraffe waiting for its snack, photo provided by author
The next day, we toured the University of Georgia, specifically its veterinary school and had some hands-on activities where we pretended to take blood from some stuffed animals. Then we roamed around downtown Atlanta. We had a lot packed in for the weekend, but every moment was enjoyable. We went to the Coca-Cola museum, and I had the wildest sugar rush of my life from trying over fifteen different types of soda from all around the world. To calm ourselves, we ventured out to the museum of natural history and learned about how the human body works in 3D, which was interesting to watch. The day ended off at the Atlanta Aquarium and for the first time, I saw a whale shark. It amazed me, and I just had to stop to enjoy the beauty of the sea creatures that also live on this planet.
After returning back to Frankfort, one more week of activities awaited us. We went to many other horse breeding farms and nature centers. One of the most memorable experiences I had was doing a venipuncture procedure on a goat, which is where you take the blood from an animal. We traveled to a campus that Kentucky State owns and I was flushed by the heat that awaited us. It was extremely hot and I felt the sweat drip down the sides of my head. But my passion for assisting animals drove away those thoughts and I focused on drawing blood from the goat, and I did an excellent job! I had never stuck a needle into a living animal, but this experience assured me that I would be able to do this as a career in the future.
As the end of the program approached, I took full advantage of all the activities that were offered, because not a lot of people get to have opportunities like this and especially when the costs are covered by our government. I ate a lot of food in the cafeteria and I exchanged numbers to keep in contact with my new friends. This program was definitely an eye opener and I had such memorable experiences in Kentucky. I am more than grateful to have chosen this university summer program. In the end, I realized that while equine medicine might not be my calling, instead I discovered that I wish to pursue a career that revolves around helping wildlife, hence the name AgDiscovery.
A mare and her baby at a breeding facility, photo provided by author
The whole point of this program is to help teenagers like me discover what they would be interested in, and I can attest that it was successful for me! I also learned how vital it is to be able to adapt to change, because the heat in Kentucky changed our plans and lots of schedule shifting had to be done. I am not fond of the heat, but being able to push through and understand that not everything will go as planned is something I found to be useful to me. Being at Midland has also helped me strengthen my ability to adapt to change and I easily took in the new plans and even assisted my peers who were not yet as familiar with this skill. Overall, this opportunity brought me an abundance of memorable memories and will never forget them as I continue to grow in this field.
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