PROFILE
“ I ’ m 23 now and found out last July about the IAT turf golf management certificate program ,” Stahl said . “ Growing up , I had always golfed with my dad , but I got into turf much later , putting together my love of golf and the outdoors .”
Stahl had some experience in landscaping and a basic understanding of grass , but he said the turf classes and his internship at Shady Canyon Golf Club has taught him a lot in a short period .
“ The superintendents are looking at our class schedules and helping connect the dots between what we ’ re learning and what we ’ re putting into practice ,” Stahl said . “ Overall , my knowledge has grown exponentially . This internship has been really good .”
He ’ s also found a community among the small , close-knit group of turf students and faculty who have built a unique camaraderie through their experiences . “ I was definitely a little nervous coming out here . I was most nervous moving across the country , especially given everything that was going on ,” Stahl said . “ Dr . Rogers wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable . He helped me realize I am a good fit for this program , and this is what I really love to do .”
COVID-19 has caused little disruption in daily operations at Pelican ’ s Nest Golf Club , Bonita Springs , Fla ., and work has remained steady . MSU students rarely go to Florida during normal compressed April internships due to the seasonality , so the opportunity to host two student interns starting this January was unique .
Jason Zimmerman , director of greens and grounds at Pelican ’ s Nest , graduated from MSU in 1998 . Helping MSU and its turf students appealed to him .
“ It has been a great benefit to have students here working that are committed to learning more about not only what they are doing , but why they are doing it ,” he said . “ They proved to be very dedicated to working and were a great asset to the club .”
Zimmerman said there is nothing better than applied learning in the turf industry .
“ One of the best things about this career is that it is constantly changing and we continue to learn every day ,” he said . “ To read something in a textbook or see it on a video does not take the place of getting dirty .”
Jackson Severns has been working at Pelican ’ s Nest since the fall 2020 . Severns found his niche with the turf concentration in the crop and soil sciences major , but he also found remote classwork challenging when classes moved online in March 2020 due to COVID-19 .
“ I did not do well with the online school and took some time off ,” he said . “ Dr . Rogers helped connect me with Pelican ’ s Nest , and I started working there as an employee in September 2020 . For the spring 2021 semester , I became an intern at Pelican ’ s Nest and took online turf classes that were directly applicable to my internship .”
This internship has provided unique opportunities for Severns to interact with industry leaders , as well as learn applicable skills on the golf course .
“ It ’ s nice to go to class , and then you go to work to learn more about pesticides , fertilizers , procedures , protocols , fungicides . Then you ’ re working right with the spray technicians at the golf course ,” he said .
WRAPPING UP “ THE EXPERIMENT ” Rogers and Horgan reviewed the challenges of remote classes in the highly applied skills field of turfgrass , and developed new opportunities for students to learn in partnership with golf facilities and MSU alumni . Additional faculty and instructors involved included Thom Nikolai , Ph . D ., and Phil Hill .
This new internship program ran from January through March 2021 . Afterwards , students had the option of staying at their locations or moving on to a different golf facility for their April-May internships . Of the 16 students who participated in the new internship program , 12 went to different golf facilities to gain additional experience .
Moving forward , the turf program plans to offer two internship opportunities to students : January- March and the normal April-May opportunity .
“ We bit off a lot here , but the alternative was these students were sitting behind a computer all semester and not using their turf skills in the field ,” said Rogers .
Said Horgan , “ This is what we do best . We do research and we teach at a land-grant university . We have relationships with our industry from an extension outreach perspective . This was truly an experiment . Not being afraid to take a risk , that ’ s what experimenting is all about .”
The resulting knowledge gained through “ The Experiment ” will help build stronger and more resilient academic programs , facilities and careers .
“ It ’ s really clear to me that when Dr . Rogers was putting this together , he thought of us as students ,” said Stahl . “ And how best to help us learn .” SFM
Beth Bonsall writes about the experiences of students and faculty in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Institute of Agricultural Technology at Michigan State University . She also supports student recruitment and diversity , equity and inclusion communications . sportsfieldmanagementonline . com June 2021 | SportsField Management
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