U of G Hosts Reach Ahead Day for High School Students
October 25, 2010 - News Release
The University of Guelph's Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) will give high school students a taste of campus studies during its first-ever "Reach Ahead Day" Oct. 26.
During the one-day conference, 160 students from across Ontario will tour the campus and attend lectures and labs in agriculture, environment, food/horticulture and landscape architecture.
OAC is hosting the event to support the Ontario Ministry of Education’s specialist high skills major program. The program allows grades 11 and 12 students to focus on an economic sector and helps transition them to post-secondary education, apprenticeship training or the workplace.
Students can attend lectures on biocars and biofuels, landscape design, water-quality management, and horticultural and food production technologies. They can also attend the following labs:
• Agriculture: Animal barn tour to explore connections between agriculture and animal nutrition, health and welfare.
• Food/horticulture: Ice cream production, including research in healthful and nutritious forms of ice cream.
• Landscape architecture: Greenhouse tour to learn about various types of ornamental plants.
• Environment: Tour of the Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility and discussion of growing plants in space.
During four panel sessions, current Guelph students and alumni will discuss their U of G experiences and education, career opportunities and the relevance of their education to the workplace.
The conference kicks off with a welcome and orientation at 10:30 a.m. at the W. F. Mitchell Athletics Centre and wraps up in the new Pathobiology and Animal Health Laboratory.
For more information, contact OAC liaison officer Jason Tran at tranv@uoguelph.ca or 519-824-4120, Ext. 56812.
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, at 519-824-4120, Ext. 53338, or lhunt@uoguelph.ca, or Deirdre Healey, Ext. 56982 or dhealey@uoguelph.ca.
