LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock ISD’s AgriSTEM building is now holding its fourth year of classes. The building caters to FFA students with instruction focused on agriculture.
Course offerings
AgriSTEM Coordinator Coby Johnson said wildlife classes teach hunter safety, boater safety and ecology management. Plant science classes focus on floral design.
The program also offers animal management, equine science, livestock production and vet science.
“Or they can turn and go into our food science, food safety, and meat science departments,” Johnson said.
After students complete their freshman classes, they can attend the AgriSTEM complex near Fourth Street and Quaker Avenue for advanced courses. Johnson said students choose from four pathways: wildlife management, plant science, animal science or food science.
Student experiences
Rynn Riddle, a senior focusing on vet medicine, said the classes help her raise her own animals at home.
“And it helps me know like, oh, this is where the injection should be. This is what to do whenever they’re feeling they have a cough or something,” Riddle said.
Emma Gast, a floral design student, said students learn the business side of selling products in addition to design.
“Through our floral design classes, I’m able to get my certifications through the state so I can work at a floral shop. And then also I can see the way a floral business would be run, such as like wholesale prices, retail prices, and everything like that,” Gast said.
Senior Hunter Harris said he is building connections with game wardens and Texas Parks and Wildlife through the wildlife program.
“I feel just on my side of things, connections are more long-term than let’s say you’d pass a test in a normal math class. I feel like those connections are going to be more long-term and more beneficial than just passing a normal class that you would at a normal high school,” Harris said.
Johnson said AgriSTEM has produced national FFA champions, and several students are currently ranked in the top ten nationally.
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