A lucky group of College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) students were treated to a complimentary three-course dinner and a lesson on dining etiquette at Vita Nova. The student-operated, fine dining restaurant boasted the perfect location for AGcelerate, the college’s student enrichment program. The end-of-semester celebration capped a busy year for AGcelerate, which provides students access to tutoring from the Office of Academic Enrichment, seminars, peer mentoring, faculty networking, and hosting social events like the formal gathering in early May. 

In-person events like the etiquette dinner provide students an opportunity to socialize with other students in the college, specifically other women.

“Particularly for women in STEM fields, creating social connections is more important to their academic success than any other influence,” explained Lesa Griffiths, faculty member and co-director of AGcelerate. “So for me, this was a way to find the students that needed some help and support and help them make those social connections.”

The free event was open to any student in one of the college’s 13 majors. 

Griffiths (Animal and Food Sciences) runs the program alongside fellow faculty member Vincenzo Ellis (Entomology and Wildlife Ecology). First launched through a grant to support underrepresented students, the program is now funded by the college. 

Program and event planning also involve the other half of the AGcelerate braintrust — undergraduate intern Maci Carter and graduate intern Emily Kennebeck.

“It really does help to have both an undergraduate and graduate, to just get more of a student perspective,” said Kennebeck. “It’s really nice to get students excited about agriculture.”

Building enthusiasm for agriculture and natural resources amongst the student community is one of the program’s key goals. Now on the other side of a global pandemic, re-engagement and peer connections are key areas of focus for AgCelerate.

“It’s very important to get people excited about what they study and into agriculture and then into a support network to get to know other students who study similar things,” added Kennebeck.

Earlier this spring, Ellis hosted a graduate school discussion where he broke down the application process and Griffiths hosted a veterinary school planning session. But perhaps the program’s most treasured offering are weekly tutoring sessions, which range from lessons in chemistry to math to biology.

“They offer free tutoring for some of the hardest classes, which I really appreciate,” explained Lucy Whitman, a UD Class of 2025 pre-veterinary medicine major. “It was just really nice to be able to go down to Townsend Hall and meet other students who were kind of struggling with the same classes and work through it with them and the tutors as well.”

AGcelerate students have no required meetings nor commitments; program leaders welcome students regardless of what services they need or how often they attend.

“It’s important that the college shows the student body that it’s there, it supports them, it sees them,” Ellis emphasized. “To support all of them, including people who have been historically underrepresented in the fields that we teach. So, I view it as a really important element of CANR.”

Aside from hosting its own events, AGcelerate partners with other UD organizations like Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANNRS) that share similar goals of academic and professional development. 

A final spring semester event, AGcelerate Study Break, was supported by the CANR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. Students took a final exam study break to enjoy lunch and make their own exam week “survival bag” of snacks and goodies.

After a successful semester, AGcelerate hopes to make events like the etiquette dinner at Vita Nova an annual tradition as well as add new forms of student support.

“It is a great service and a great program,” expressed Carter. “We want more students to know about it and get involved.”