Prairie View A&M University News September 18, 2018 BELL COUNTY AGENT EVOKES ENTREPRENEUR SPIRIT IN YOUTH Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) impacts the communities of the underserved population throughout Texas with employees in over 28 counties across the great state. PVAMU's Cooperative Extension Program provides relevant programming to engage county residents. Bell County is one of the counties the university serves through County Agent Sheryl Austin. One such event is a recent six series program in partnership with the Central Texas Housing Consortium and their annual Junior Einstein science that took place this summer. The theme of the science camp was 'Agriculture and Me,' where she provided three educational, hands-on, interactive sessions on agriculture that discussed what agriculture was, how it affects our daily life, career options, and being a good steward of the earth. The Housing Consortium coordinated educational field trips: Mill King Market and Creamery (a family run farm located in the Waco, Texas area); Sweet Eats Fruit Farm (Georgetown, Texas), and the Historic Waco Foundation 5 The youth participants learned about the STEM functions of agriculture, including food science. Austin implanted the seed of entrepreneurship in the youth and the best ways to incorporate agriculture marketing and communications, in their business plans. "My role is important because for them I am a face of Prairie View A&M University, re-enforcing the idea of higher education," shares Austin. "I represent them, as a minority and coming from a low-income family, and part of my job is to empower individuals with information to improve their quality of life." PVAMU County Agents also serve as unspoken recruiters for the university as they actively engage with the families of school-aged youth and trustful relationships are established. "I specifically desire an increase in Ag knowledge and knowledge of careers, an increase 4-H participation, an increase of youth applying for USDA 1890 Scholarship and PVAMU student enrollment, especially for the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences," expresses Sheryl. Austin conducts many programs in Bell County, including 'Your Money, Your Goals', 'Families Reading Everyday' and 'Safe Sitter' training, which gives residents knowledge of money management, certifying babysitters to increase pay and encourage literacy. For more information on 4H programs in Bell County, contact Sheryl Austin at slaustin@ag.tamu.edu<mailto:slaustin@ag.tamu.edu>. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org%3cmailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org>> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. The 8th HBCU Library Alliance Membership Meeting is scheduled at the Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library (GA) on Sunday through Tuesday, October 7-9. Click here<http://www.hbculibraries.org/meeting-2018-info.html> for registration and session details. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/