Thomas Hark, president and CEO of Vermont Youth Conservation Corps joined Vermont Tech President Dan Smith Thursday in announcing the new Working Lands Certificate Program at the Vermont Farm Show in Essex Junction. Venture Semester, a VYCC and Vermont Tech partnership program, is designed to immerse students in agriculture, food, and leadership, as well as enhance high school graduates’ access to higher education.
Dan Smith, left, and Thomas Hark.
“I believe fervently that partnerships like this one will be the infrastructure of the next decade.” Said Dan Smith, Vermont Tech’s president. “The future is in finding ways to do more for Vermont and for students with our partners than we can each do alone.”
By living, working and learning together, participants earn transferrable college credit and develop critical thinking, advanced writing, and technical skills. Students learn as much about themselves and their place in the world as they do about food systems and agriculture.
“The Venture Semester represents an exciting and natural next step in VYCC’s evolution. We are so excited to be partnering with Vermont Tech, one of Vermont’s premier institutions of higher education.” Said Thomas Hark, the president and CEO of Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. “Students will gain valuable skills in leadership and agriculture while working on one of the most vital issues facing our nation – food security. This is an opportunity for students to truly make a difference.”
Forestry, logging, dairy farming, milk processing, vegetable production, animal reproduction, plant science and nutrient management are just some of the concentrations that students are exposed to in this in-depth program. Students leave with hands-on experience, a heightened appreciation of the working landscape and a solid foundation for their future. Agriculture is deeply rooted in Vermont’s past and present. Today, the agriculture industry has about a$4 billion impact on the state’s economy.
About Vermont Tech– Vermont Tech is a leading public college with a mission of applied education. One of the five Vermont State Colleges, Vermont Tech serves students from throughout Vermont, New England, and beyond at its two residential campuses in Williston and Randolph Center, regional campuses in Brattleboro and Bennington, and at six nursing campuses located throughout the state. Vermont Tech takes an optimistic, rooted and personal approach to education to support students in gaining the confidence and practical skills necessary to not only see their potential, but to experience it. Our academic programs encompass a wide range of engineering technology, agricultural, health, and business fields that are vital to producing the knowledgeable workers needed most by employers in the state and in the region.www.vtc.edu.
About Vermont Youth Conservation Corps –The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps is a 501c3 nonprofit service, conservation, and education organization with a mission to teach individuals to take personal responsibility for all their actions. For 29 summers, the VYCC has offered residential service opportunities to youth and young adults seeking meaningful work experiences. Our program model is: small teams, well-trained leaders, and diverse crews working to complete projects that benefit the community. The VYCC instills the values of personal responsibility, hard work, education, and respect for the environment in young people. Corps Members, young adults 16-24, work, live, and learn together in small groups, completing priority conservation and agriculture projects throughout Vermont under the guidance of highly trained leaders.