Bobbie Crockett | School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences
Krystal Bumpas, right, interned with UAPB agriculture professor Shadrach Okiror as part of the Career Awareness and Opportunities in Agriculture, Environment and Life Sciences program.
The Career Awareness and Opportunities in Agriculture, Environment and Life Sciences program at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is offering scholarships for college students. Internships are also available for college and high school students. The goal is to help illustrate the many and varied degree and career opportunities related to food, fiber and environmental industries and agencies. The application deadline is April 15.
The scholarships are for college students interested in pursuing a degree in UAPB’s School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences. Eligible applicants include entering UAPB freshman, associate of arts students wishing to enroll concurrently at Southeast Arkansas College and UAPB, and two-year college transfer students. The freshman and the transfer scholarships are for $1,000 each. Concurrent enrollment scholarships pay tuition and fees for one course at UAPB.
Students enrolled in two-year colleges are also eligible to apply for the paid summer internships. The internships are five weeks long and pay $1,000. Students participate in hands-on research projects with faculty members in SAFHS degree programs.
The Career Awareness and Opportunities program will also give high school students interested in careers related to food, fiber and environmental fields a unique opportunity to gain real-world experience and earn money at the same time. High school juniors and seniors may apply for the five-week internship and be awarded $600. College and high school students may select their area of interest for the internship.
Krystal Bumpas participated in the program in summer 2011. She is now dual enrolled at UAPB and SEARK College and will earn an associate degree from SEARK College this summer. She plans to transfer to UAPB in the fall and major in plant and soil science.
Bumpas said she is glad she had the opportunity to intern at UAPB.
“It opened my eyes to what is out there,” she said. “There is more to farming than just planting crops.”
Bumpas interned with Dr. Shadrach Okiror, a UAPB agriculture professor, who is conducting research on cowpeas.
“I now have a job as a student research assistant,” she said, adding that she enjoys the work because she does something different every day.
The Career Awareness and Opportunities in Agriculture, Environment and Life Sciences program is funded by a grant awarded to SAFHS by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In collaboration with SEARK College, the program will help students make career and academic choices leading to academic achievement and an easy transition to a four-year degree. Ultimately, the project will help provide college graduates to fill the 50,000 jobs available each year in the food, agricultural and natural resource system.
Applications are available online at http://www.uapb.edu/safhs/career.html. For more information, contact Rita Conley at 870-575-8540 or conleyr@uapb.edu or Dr. Usman Adamu at 870-575-7203 or adamuu@uapb.edu.
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