Hello everyone!
My name is Zach, and I am a returning student with the Student Farm Program. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a senior majoring in Community and Economic Development. I’m originally from Pottstown, Pennsylvania, which is located a few minutes from the City of Reading. I grew up in a tight-knit community that was surrounded by agriculture, so I’ve always had an interest in gardening and the outdoors. I came to Penn State in 2022 and found myself involved in the Student Farm Program shortly after, starting as a member of the Student Farm Club’s Hydroponic Team. I quickly realized that I wanted a more hands-on experience with the farm and was hired as a member of the 2023 Intern Cohort where I worked over the summer as the Wholesale Manager. I wanted to continue my involvement with the farm, so the next year I was back serving as an AmeriCorps member with the program where I helped with summer event planning and general maintenance of on-campus spaces. I’m back once again to complete a supervised field experience for my Community & Civic Engagement minor as well as to help on the farm through a community-service federal work-study.
The focus of my supervised field experience has less to do with the work on the field, and more to do with the backend of the program. This research project will be focused on student engagement and student retention on the farm. There are so many great people that get involved with the farm for a limited amount of time, and I’m looking to understand what motivates people to initially get involved with the program as well as what encouraged them to either stick around or pursue other opportunities. Additionally, I’m interested in understanding the student awareness of all of the different ways a student can get involved in order to gauge how the program could improve marketing and other materials to reach more people. I’ll be completing this project through a series of interviews with past/current interns to learn more about their personal experiences with the program. I’m hoping that this information will provide valuable insight to answer some of the questions listed above.
The Student Farm Program has helped to shape me both professionally and personally and has been a highlight of my time in college. The farm is a great place to meet new people and has provided me with a sense of community, which can sometimes be difficult in a place as big as Penn State. I can’t recommend getting involved enough and I hope the results of this project will help bring more people into the program!