High school students involved in Ag research

Colin Craft, a recent grad of Archmere Academy, will be a freshman in UD’s Honors Program this fall.

11:53 a.m., Aug. 8, 2005--Standing among rows of corn in 90-degree heat--some with towels wrapped around their heads--is probably not where you’d expect to find high school students or recent high school graduates during the summer.

But that is exactly where 13 students from New Castle County are spending their summer as research assistants to Prof. Jim Hawk and Tecle Weldekidan, associate scientist, both in the plant and soil sciences department at UD.

The students arrive at about 7 a.m. and work “until the job’s done,” which is usually around 4 p.m., up to six days a week during corn pollination.

The students went through a process similar to one they might encounter in the working world to get their jobs as Hawk’s assistants.

“We look at this as a way to give young people experience,” Weldekidan said. “They fill out real applications, get references and even come in for an interview.”

Hawk said this summer the students are learning how to make improved corn, help out in collecting data and the process of controlled self-pollination.

“Everything has to be really precise,” Hawk said. “That’s why we need students who are really interested.”

Archmere grad Kathie Boothe is working on the corn-breeding project for the third time this summer.

“I’ve learned a lot about the different types of corn and also self-pollinating and crossing,” Katie Boothe said.

Boothe, whom Hawk calls an “outstanding student,” is a recent Archmere Academy graduate who has worked on the corn-breeding project for the past three summers. She will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall and majoring in either biology or biochemistry.

“It’s fun to do this research,” Boothe said.

“Many of the students get familiar with UD and actually end up coming here,” Hawk said.

That was the case for Colin Craft, another recent graduate of Archmere who is an incoming freshman in UD’s Honors Program and is working for his third year on the project.

Craft, who began working with Hawk when he was 15, said being familiar with the school and the research did help push him toward coming to UD. He plans to major in either biology or biochemistry.

James Shaw from St. Marks High School

Grad student Adrienne Kleintop and Elizabeth Winograd-Cort, a recent Brown University graduate who is interning with Hawk for the summer, both said they really enjoy having the younger students work with them on the project.

“Dr. Hawk and Tecle are both really interested in making sure [the students] understand exactly what they are doing in the fields,” Winograd-Cort said. “It really helps us all to get a lot more out of it.”

Hawk said it is interesting to watch the young students gain experience in plant breeding. They also learn how to grow and harvest their own food, and they can actually eat the sweet corn right from the field.

Maggie Chow, a 16-year-old student who will be a junior at Archmere, said that is her favorite part of her first year on the job.

“After my first week, I was a little bit anti-corn after working with it all day” she said. “But now, I love eating the sweet corn, it is surprisingly sweet. We always bring some home--it makes my mom pretty happy.”

Eric Walker, a UD senior majoring in natural resource management who also is helping out with the project for his third summer, said they also grow corn on the farm that will be feed for animals. “We try to plant at different times so all the corn is in different stages,” he said.

Rueben Kempton, a senior at Newark High School who is working for his second year on the job, said he likes the corn-breeding research and he likes being outside in the field for a summer job.

Matt Smith from St. Marks High School

Other students involved in the corn research are Nicole Gokool, Matt Smith, James Shaw and Bryan McCullar from St. Marks High School; Jennifer Molini, from Archmere Academy; Benjamin Young from Christiana High School; Jason Styons, who will be attending Duke University in the fall, and Aditya Shivprasad from the Charter School of Wilimington; Peter Golt from Wilmington Christian School; UD sophomore Michael Shertok, in his fourth summer working with Hawk; and Stacey Shertok, a recent UD biology major graduate.

At the end of the summer, before the students either head back to high school or to their college of choice, Hawk said the group will have a picnic where they will enjoy the sweet corn they worked so hard to grow.

“A cornfield is not just a field,” Hawk said. “It’s an outdoor research laboratory.”

“The work of the students has certainly benefited us,” Hawk said. “We hope it also benefits them.”

Article by Leah Conway, AS’06
Photos by Tyler Jacobson

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