Alternative Spring Break: College Access for Rural CommunitiesTravis

OSU Extension collaborates with the Office of Student Affairs' Buck-I-Serv program and the Office of Student Life's Buckeye Civic Engagement Connection program to deliver college experiences to rural youth in Vinton County. Participants will learn how to design a college student-led service learning project; discover how to leverage resources from main campus; and explore options for providing youth development through college access programming efforts. Ohio's Appalachian region is a diverse and unique region that has historically faced severe economic challenges. Many students from Appalachia are first-generation college students, and many are from small, rural communities. Students who are first-generation college students often face additional challenges adjusting to college life, because their family lacks "what to expect at college" experiences. Buckeyes for Appalachia is a group of students who provide opportunities to have fun while giving back to Appalachian communities through several means, including inspiring Appalachian middle and high school students to take the steps necessary to reach higher education. There is a positive correlation between higher levels of education and higher earnings for all racial and ethnic groups, regardless of gender. During one's lifetime, it is estimated that a college degree is worth $1.3 million more than a high school diploma. This is the sixth year Vinton County has used university partnerships to provide college experiences for 1,400 youth annually. Afterward, 100 percent of the teachers and administrators indicated that students were excited following the program and asked numerous questions about college and postsecondary options in the weeks following the visit. A pre- and post-program assessment showed that 86 percent of youth indicated an increase in knowledge about postsecondary options, and 91 percent know someone who attended college and can answer their questions about college. Extension's task of community engagement and outreach can be strengthened by developing relationships and using your college connections for youth education.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Travis West, Educator, 4-H Youth Development, The Ohio State University Extension, [email protected] (Corresponding Author).OSU Extension collaborates to deliver college experiences to rural youth in Vinton County. Extension's community engagement and outreach can be strengthened by developing relationships and using your college connections for youth education. Learn about resources to provide college-access programming to youth

Alternative Spring Break: Building Skills in Rural Youth and OSU Students Simultaneously

IMPACT. 1: OSU Students educate over 1,400 youth (grades 3-11) each year during their week-long visit and the Alternative Spring Break program is included in the district's Career Advising Plan for all students. -- 2. 86% of youth served indicated on the post-test an increase in knowledge about post-secondary options. -- 3. 91% indicate knowing someone after the visit that attended college and can answer their questions about college.OSU PARTNERS: Office of Student Life Buck-I-Serv program; OSU Extension - Vinton CountyCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Vinton County Local Schools; Vinton County Marketing Director; Vinton County Extension Advisory Committee; Lake Hope State ParkPRIMARY CONTACT: Travis West ([email protected])OSU Extension Vinton County collaborates with the Buck-I-Serv program to deliver college experiences to rural youth. Extension community engagement and outreach can be strengthened by developing relationships and using college connections for youth education. Ohio's Appalachian region has historically faced severe economic challenges including many students who are first-generation college students from small, rural communities. First-generation students often face challenges adjusting to college life, because their family lacks "what to expect" at college experiences

Postsecondary Access for Rural Youth: Multiple Connections Strengthen Community Engagement

Ohio State University Extension faculty provide multiple opportunities for rural Vinton County youth to be exposed to postsecondary options throughout their K-12 education. Extension’s commitment to community engagement is highlighted by developing relationships between the schools and the university to deliver a consolidated approach to postsecondary awareness and understanding

Putting Healthy Food on the Table

IMPACT. 1: Vinton County residents have very limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. This project will hold gardening classes, and establish a community garden and container gardening to increase access to produce. -- 2. Many local residents need to travel 25 miles to reach the closest grocery store. To help maximize shopping trips, this project will provide education on meal planning, budgeted shopping and making healthy food selections. -- 3. Elevated rates of some cancers in Vinton County are associated with dietary behaviors. To encourage healthy food options in homes, this project will provide education sessions on canning and freezing.OSU PARTNERS: Appalachia Community Cancer; Network; Comprehensive Cancer Center; OSU ExtensionCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Project Task Force Members; 4-H; Vinton County Board of Developmental Disabilities; Community Garden Farmers Markets & Farm Stands; Gardening Experts; Local MediaPRIMARY CONTACT: Travis West ([email protected]); Kate Homonal ([email protected]); Darla Fickle ([email protected])Vinton County is a rural Appalachian county designated as a "food desert" with no full-service grocery store, thus limiting access to nutritious and affordable foods. This project will establish a community garden, initiate container gardening and provide education on producing, purchasing, preparing and preserving fruits and vegetables, thereby increasing year-round access for children and adults in Vinton County

MEAT-GOAT MARKET ANALYSIS: A PILOT STUDY OF THE SOMALI MARKET IN COLUMBUS, OH

This case study focuses on meat goat marketing involving one distinct immigrant group residing in one area of Columbus, Ohio: the Somalis. There are about 20,000-25,000 Somalis living in Columbus, the second largest concentration of Somalian immigrants in the U.S. after Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. It is estimated that Columbus Somalis consume the meat from about 14,000 goats each year. The objective of this pilot study is to analyze the meat goat marketing and consumption patterns of the Somali immigrant population of Columbus, Ohio. Understanding gained in the Somali meat market will assist in determining the feasibility of establishing a more structured marketing system, including the possible need for a processing plant dedicated to goat meat. The Southern Ohio Meat Goat Task Force is a group of meat-goat producers, marketers, OSU extension professionals, and Ohio Cooperative Development Center staff members that are working with the meat-goat industry to assess and develop goat production, processing, and meat marketing in Ohio. Tours of several retail shops within the Somali community were conducted to further understand the preferences of the Somali population. Interviews were conducted with a slaughter-plant manager in nearby Detroit, Michigan, the current major supplier of fresh goat meat to the Columbus market. During January and March 2003, two focus-group sessions were organized and conducted by task force members with Somali consumers, entrepreneurs, and retail grocery owners. Significant results and discussion presented in detail within this research report include: Somalia's prefer fresh over frozen goat meat, pricing is a key determinant in meat choices for Somali consumers, goat meat and lamb meat are somewhat substitutable in Somali diets, Somalis will substitute halal chicken and beef if lamb and goat meat is not available, lean grass-fed carcass is preferred to a grain-fed goat, Somalis eat goat meat 1-2 times a day year-round, most people feeding families buy a whole carcass, and only a slight preference was indicated between the halal and kosher slaughter practices.Agribusiness,

Kinesthetic Language Learning: How an Accident Led to a Revelation

This essay analyzes a critical incident that took place in a hybrid distancelearning Hebrew language class that was adapting interactive, immersion-style, kinesthetic pedagogy during the week-long face-to-face intensive portion of the class – including Total Physical Response techniques in which students respond to the language with whole-body actions, entering into the world created by the language and the particular biblical text. Memorization, performance, interactive games, songs, and skits also contribute to the immersion-style learning environment. A snafu on the final day of the week led to a serendipitous solution that demonstrated Parker Palmer’s idea of subject centered pedagogy. A brief description and analysis of the critical incident is followed by two short responses

Opaline Cements of the Altamaha Formation in Central Georgia: a petrographic analysis

The Altamaha Formation of central Georgia consists of well-indurated Miocene sandstones. Previous workers, as well as this study, have documented opaline and silica cements in these rocks. The origin of these cements and their associated depositional environment is unclear. This study is an attempt to better characterize these cements through petrographic analysis and hand sample examination. Various samples have been collected from the Central Georgia Coastal Plain region including locations from Ashburn, Georgia to Soperton, Georgia. These rocks are poorly sorted, angular, well-indurated, feldspathic to sub-feldspathic sandstones. They generally show significant volumes of matrix and silica cements. Minor amounts of clay and carbonate cements have also been observed. The previously mentioned matrix is problematic because these rocks are not graywackes. The formation is interpreted to be terrestrial due to the presence of terrestrial fossils along with terrestrial depositional features. Initial analysis of thin sections revealed that some of the cement is true opaline though other portions of cement appear to be chalcedonic quartz or in transition from opaline to chalcedonic quartz. In hand sample, these cements are opaque white with conchoidal fracture and do not show opaline luster