Pasadena Citizen - News
Local agriculture programs prepare students for rodeo
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| Philip Lyles, Pasadena Memorial High School agriculture teacher helping Sophomore Aron Williams prepare his steer for the Pasadena Livestock Show. |
By RICHARD TEW
The Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo is in full swing with quite a few students from Pasadena schools representing PISD in what has become a local institution for local agriculture students.
With the rodeo being in its 50th year, its allure is still going strong and will no doubt continue to grow and attract the next generation of fans. Giving some $100,000 in scholarships and another $200,000 in payouts to local FFA members, the rodeo does more than its fair share of giving back to, and investing in the Pasadena community.
The National FFA (Future Farmers of America) is an organization students join through their respective schools as they begin to raise and show animals in local venues around town such as the Pasadena Rodeo.
The Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo offers local Pasadena students a venue in which to show off their hard work and dedication to the field of Agriculture.
While many students join the agriculture program for elective purposes, some have other reasons for signing up including preparing for a career in the agriculture field.
For Britney Kasper, a 17-year-old senior at Dobie High School, her and her mom’s rural upbringing influenced her to pursue agriculture.
“My mom used to live on a farm, and so I have always been interested in Ag because I lived in the country and so I just wanted to get back into it,” she said.
For Kylie Court, another Dobie senior, it was her love of animals and a family influence that helped her decide to get started in the program.
“Well, I’ve always loved animals and my sister raised them for her four years at Dobie so I thought I would enjoy it too,” Court said.
Both Kasper and Court plan on pursuing career fields in disciplines that were first taught in local classrooms through the agriculture program.
The dedication to taking proper care of the livestock is intense. Most students devote the majority of their spare time to this endeavor. It’s not uncommon for a student to spend an hour or two before school, and multiple hours after school into the early evening before heading home to do homework or other school-related activities.
“I get up here about 4 p.m. till about 7 p.m. and I feed my lambs and goats, and on Saturday and Sunday I’m up here at about 7 a.m. and work until about 2 p.m.; all year around, I don’t get a break from my animals” said Pasadena Memorial High School junior Rachelle Coble.
Some of the students have a hard time balancing other extracurricular activities such as sports. Raising these animals require participation during the majority of the year which makes it doubly hard for some students to commit too.
With the daunting task of teaching students the necessary skills needed to raise animals, and prepare both the student and animal for the competition circuit, teachers have to stay on their toes and stay abreast of the latest techniques and tools of the trade.
Philip Lyles and his wife, Brooke, both teachers at Pasadena Memorial High School oversee the largest agriculture program in the district. They take pride in the students they produce and take an active role in helping the students learn the proper and ethical ways of working with livestock.
Lyles points out three important aspects of being successful in the agriculture program, “It takes a lot of time, money and dedication to prepare for the livestock show.”
He goes on to emphasize the role of the family, “It takes involvement from the whole family, but as the students get older and can drive, they can then start doing more and more on their own.”
With students having at their disposal more and more games, gadgets and other distractions, it must be hard to get them to stay focused and dedicated to their training and to the up keep of their animals. According to Don Williams, the agriculture teacher at Dobie High School: “It’s become more of a challenge.” “I’ve been teaching for more than 27 years now and things are different now than when I first started teaching, you’ve got to become more creative, but there are still students who are dedicated to taking care of their animals.”
The rodeo itself is a culmination of the combined efforts of both the teachers and students. While their reasons for liking the rodeo vary, most students agree that it’s the social aspect of interacting with their peers, their friends and family that bring them the most enjoyment from the rodeo.
Others like South Houston High School senior, Jerika Commins like a different aspect of the rodeo. “They have the best food ever, and the sheep clothing competition where all the kids get to dress up sheep is fun, oh and our school won last year by the way,” she said.
Still others go for a plethora of other reasons. For Pasadena Memorial Sophomore Taylor Mesecher it’s the convenience that the Pasadena Rodeo offers that makes him appreciate and enjoy it so much.
“My favorite part is that it’s so convenient and it doesn’t cost as much to go down there and have fun, it won’t cost you a fortune,” he said.
After all the early mornings, long evenings and weekends at the barn taking care of their animals, the students will eventually have to say bye to their furred or feathered friends. What they will take with them goes beyond any money or titles they might win, it’s the life lessons they have learned along the way: sportsmanship, teamwork and camaraderie with peers and teachers, not to mention the sacrifices from family to help support the students that will prove to be the reward these young people will take with them through the rest of their lives.
From the perspective of Val Gurka, Agriculture teacher from South Houston High School, the benefit of participating in the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo is simple, “There’s not a better opportunity for these kids than right here.”
With the rodeo being in its 50th year, its allure is still going strong and will no doubt continue to grow and attract the next generation of fans. Giving some $100,000 in scholarships and another $200,000 in payouts to local FFA members, the rodeo does more than its fair share of giving back to, and investing in the Pasadena community.
The National FFA (Future Farmers of America) is an organization students join through their respective schools as they begin to raise and show animals in local venues around town such as the Pasadena Rodeo.
The Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo offers local Pasadena students a venue in which to show off their hard work and dedication to the field of Agriculture.
While many students join the agriculture program for elective purposes, some have other reasons for signing up including preparing for a career in the agriculture field.
For Britney Kasper, a 17-year-old senior at Dobie High School, her and her mom’s rural upbringing influenced her to pursue agriculture.
“My mom used to live on a farm, and so I have always been interested in Ag because I lived in the country and so I just wanted to get back into it,” she said.
For Kylie Court, another Dobie senior, it was her love of animals and a family influence that helped her decide to get started in the program.
“Well, I’ve always loved animals and my sister raised them for her four years at Dobie so I thought I would enjoy it too,” Court said.
Both Kasper and Court plan on pursuing career fields in disciplines that were first taught in local classrooms through the agriculture program.
The dedication to taking proper care of the livestock is intense. Most students devote the majority of their spare time to this endeavor. It’s not uncommon for a student to spend an hour or two before school, and multiple hours after school into the early evening before heading home to do homework or other school-related activities.
“I get up here about 4 p.m. till about 7 p.m. and I feed my lambs and goats, and on Saturday and Sunday I’m up here at about 7 a.m. and work until about 2 p.m.; all year around, I don’t get a break from my animals” said Pasadena Memorial High School junior Rachelle Coble.
Some of the students have a hard time balancing other extracurricular activities such as sports. Raising these animals require participation during the majority of the year which makes it doubly hard for some students to commit too.
With the daunting task of teaching students the necessary skills needed to raise animals, and prepare both the student and animal for the competition circuit, teachers have to stay on their toes and stay abreast of the latest techniques and tools of the trade.
Philip Lyles and his wife, Brooke, both teachers at Pasadena Memorial High School oversee the largest agriculture program in the district. They take pride in the students they produce and take an active role in helping the students learn the proper and ethical ways of working with livestock.
Lyles points out three important aspects of being successful in the agriculture program, “It takes a lot of time, money and dedication to prepare for the livestock show.”
He goes on to emphasize the role of the family, “It takes involvement from the whole family, but as the students get older and can drive, they can then start doing more and more on their own.”
With students having at their disposal more and more games, gadgets and other distractions, it must be hard to get them to stay focused and dedicated to their training and to the up keep of their animals. According to Don Williams, the agriculture teacher at Dobie High School: “It’s become more of a challenge.” “I’ve been teaching for more than 27 years now and things are different now than when I first started teaching, you’ve got to become more creative, but there are still students who are dedicated to taking care of their animals.”
The rodeo itself is a culmination of the combined efforts of both the teachers and students. While their reasons for liking the rodeo vary, most students agree that it’s the social aspect of interacting with their peers, their friends and family that bring them the most enjoyment from the rodeo.
Others like South Houston High School senior, Jerika Commins like a different aspect of the rodeo. “They have the best food ever, and the sheep clothing competition where all the kids get to dress up sheep is fun, oh and our school won last year by the way,” she said.
Still others go for a plethora of other reasons. For Pasadena Memorial Sophomore Taylor Mesecher it’s the convenience that the Pasadena Rodeo offers that makes him appreciate and enjoy it so much.
“My favorite part is that it’s so convenient and it doesn’t cost as much to go down there and have fun, it won’t cost you a fortune,” he said.
After all the early mornings, long evenings and weekends at the barn taking care of their animals, the students will eventually have to say bye to their furred or feathered friends. What they will take with them goes beyond any money or titles they might win, it’s the life lessons they have learned along the way: sportsmanship, teamwork and camaraderie with peers and teachers, not to mention the sacrifices from family to help support the students that will prove to be the reward these young people will take with them through the rest of their lives.
From the perspective of Val Gurka, Agriculture teacher from South Houston High School, the benefit of participating in the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo is simple, “There’s not a better opportunity for these kids than right here.”
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