by Rachel Engel, WOSC freshman
In the
short time he’s been on campus Nathan Wells has generating a lot of
student interest in the animal science portion of the agriculture
department, and he welcomes all students regardless of experience.
"I will certainly not hold a lack of experience against students,
but I ask that they come to class with an open mind," Wells said.
"There isn’t just one way to handle the animals, and my way is to
use your brain. Work with the horse and try to understand how he
perceives things."
Wells has introduced new classes to the agricultural program this
year, including Horse Management and Livestock Feeding. "Next
semester we’re offering a colt training class," Wells said. "I do
prefer the students to have some experience for this class, as well
as a colt they can bring to class. Eventually I hope to be able to
have colts and steers available for the students to work with."
Among other things, Wells has plans to incorporate more interactive
lessons into the course work. "One of the best things is offering
hands-on lab work," Wells said. "It was very limited before, and I
think by adding more we’ve really made some strides." Wells is also
hoping to upgrade the facilities that he shares with Western’s rodeo
team, and bring in some more equipment, all of which cost money.
"The college has graciously given us some money for equipment, but
of course we could always use more," Wells said. A fundraising
project down the road might be a solution." At my previous teaching
job in Pendleton, Oregon, I had a class that marketed the meat from
steer they took care of in class," Wells said. "They did everything
except for the meat processing. They made flyers, and sold and
distributed the meat as a fundraiser to raise money for the program.
I hope to be able to do something like that later on."
In an effort to promote the agricultural department, Wells travels
to surrounding high schools with Chad Wiginton, Director of High
School and College Relations." We’ve been visiting the surrounding
areas’ agricultural and Future Farmers of America (FFA) classes,"
Wells said. "Those are the kids who are interested in an
agricultural degree."
According to Wells, this is a step in the right direction. "I hope
to see our student numbers increase drastically in the next two to
three years, and I believe they will." Wells believes that showing
the students how to further their education in a subject they are
already interested in is a great way to motivate them for college.
"We tell them, ‘Why not get a degree in something you love to do,
and that interests you’. We try to stress to the kids that you have
to have some college education. Those without a degree of some kind
are becoming less and less marketable."
Above all, Wells wants his students to come away from his classes
wanting more, and to have an appreciation for animal science. "One
of my main goals is to increase the students knowledge of the
animals," Wells said, "and teach them to never quit learning. Always
learn as much as you can."
Caption for picture: Students were able to learn firsthand how to
vaccinate cattle during animal science class. Above, instructor
Nathan Wells (center) helps Nathan Helm and Shannon Call keep a calf
still for its vaccination.
