Prospective college students tour John Wood Ag Complex

BAYLIS, Ill. (WGEM) - High school students got a firsthand look Thursday at the opportunities ahead of them at the John Wood Community College Agricultural Sciences Complex.

Students were given a presentation on John Wood’s agricultural programs and were then given a tour of the facility.

Agriculture program director Mike Tenhouse said that while information about the programs can be found online, nothing beats an in-person visit.

“If they’re majoring in agriculture, the majority of their courses will be here and so it’s just good to have them on campus, so they can see the resources that we have here within our facility and within the research programs that go on around us that they’ll be able to be a part of,” Tenhouse said.

He said he was excited to see so many juniors and seniors turn out.

“We’re really happy. It’s a good number for us and I think that’s because of a lot of reasons; With the support we get with our admissions and advising group on campus, but also with our new facility,” Tenhouse said. “We have more to show and to talk about. But yeah the numbers have been good.”

He encouraged juniors to get a head start on their plans after high school.

Tenhouse said the end goal is to create a larger local workforce, especially in agricultural fields.

“Just to have them here, to hear about the career opportunities, whether they plan to do two years here and transfer on or two years here and take a job,” Tenhouse said. “It’s just good for them to hear about opportunities for employment. At the end of the day, that’s really what we’re trying to do is to get them employed and hopefully keep them in our area.”

You can find out more information about the agriculture programs at John Wood Community College here.

You can find more information about the Agricultural Science Complex and upcoming events here.

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