John Kmitta Associate Publisher / Editorial Brand Director jkmitta @ epgmediallc . com 763-383-4405

Throughout this year , we are profiling college and university turfgrass programs and what they have to offer .

David Crouse , Ph . D ., associate department head and director of undergraduate programs , Crop and Soil Sciences department at NC State , said most students come to the NC State turfgrass program with this career and major already in mind .

But for those who don ’ t have a career in turfgrass in mind , or aren ’ t even aware that sports field management is a profession , what is the key to raising awareness and getting them interested in turfgrass majors and related careers ?

“ This is an ongoing issue that I ’ ve dealt with for the past 40 years ,” said Barb Clawson , student services specialist , associate teaching professor and academic advisor at Iowa State University . According to Clawson , students who are high achieving in the sciences fail to realize horticulture is an amazing career in which they can excel .

“ How do you go into every science classroom ?” Clawson added . “ You can ’ t ; so we try to have a website that is interactive and up to date .”

Doug Linde , Ph . D ., professor of Turf Management at Delaware Valley University , said employers need to hire young people in high school .

“ Most traditional-age college students who want to study turf have

had some type of work experience around golf , baseball or have been running a part-time lawn mowing business ,” said Linde . “ Hiring teenagers for a summer job can be challenging for employers , but they are the feeder system for the industry .”

Linde added that programs such as First Green ( https :// www . thefirstgreen . org /) are vital for getting young people interested in turfgrass careers . He would also like to see sports field manager and golf course superintendent associations continue to make promotional videos and use social media to distribute information .

Chase Straw , Ph . D ., assistant professor , turfgrass management and physiology , Texas A & M University , attends conferences in Texas that allow him to speak to high school agriculture teachers .

“ I spoke to a room of 40 agriculture teachers and had six follow up with me to schedule site visits to campus ,” said Straw . “ That is one way I ’ m trying to get word out about program . I ’ m also going to pursue athletic directors ’ conferences to give the same sort of presentation about turfgrass science .”

Added Clawson , “ Just get the word out over media , Tweets , Instagram , TV , radio , etc . The more out there , the better chance we have of reaching folks who didn ’ t know these careers exist .” SFM

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SportsField Management | February 2023 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com