INDUSTRY EDUCATION
Texas A & M offers a four-year Turfgrass Science degree , but does not offer a two-year degree program .
“ I think having the four-year degree professionally gives you the ability to critically think ,” said Straw . “ College is not necessarily about what you learn in the classroom , but how you develop life skills and learn how to think for yourself and manage your time appropriately . That is going to serve you well when you go out into the world . Everything you learn in the classroom is going to set a foundation for when you start your actual job . You are obviously going to get your hands-on experience when you get into the job , but college will hopefully teach you that work / life balance – especially when you make it to a higher-end job in this industry and have a lot of pressure on you .”
According to Straw , internships are the most valuable experiences for students because they provide hands-on training . “ I push students to take quality internships ; and in my classes we try to do a lot of site visits so they can get in front of turfgrass managers , and can experience things for themselves and see it at somebody ’ s facility ,” he said .
Straw teaches two of Texas A & M ’ s turfgrass classes , both of which are for juniors and seniors . His classes feature a lecture one day of the week and then a guest speaker or site visit on another day .
“ I have gotten good feedback from students ,” said Straw . “ It ’ s encouraging to hear that they see it first in my class and then they go out and do it in their internships . They already have an idea of why to do it , then they learn how to do it when they are on their internships .”
According to Straw , Texas A & M Turfgrass Science students have interned recently at MLS stadiums , the Boston Red Sox , Philadelphia Eagles and one will soon be interning at Carolina Green . Also , two students were recently part of the all-female grounds crew for the Little League Softball World Series .
In terms of the types of careers Texas A & M Turfgrass Science students are pursuing after graduation , Straw said it is a 40 / 40 / 20 split of 40 percent sports field
management , 40 percent golf course management and 20 percent landscape management .
According to Straw , Texas A & M is one of only a handful of universities that still offers a Turfgrass Science degree . “ We had talked about merging everything into Plant and Soil Sciences , but my department head felt that having the Turfgrass Science degree gave us an advantage ,” he said .
In terms of research , Texas A & M has a 10-acre research facility . “ We usually have three or four Turfgrass Science majors working at our turfgrass research facility ,” said Straw . “ They are involved in data collection , data entry , and simple analyses . Texas A & M also offers directed studies where we can develop a research study with them or have them assist with research we have going on , and they get credit for it . I try to let the students develop their own research .
For more information about Texas A & M ’ s TurfgrassScience major , visit https :// soilcrop . tamu . edu / program / turfgrass /.
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