NC Education Update

The Horticulture Technology Department at Alamance

Community College is now a North Carolina apprenticeship sponsor, with multiple pathways to support apprentices in the green industry, depending on individual career goals. Apprenticeships, which are established through partnerships between an industry company and an educational institution, offer apprentices the opportunity to earn a living wage while learning via on-the-job training and completing courses toward a certificate or a two-year associate’s degree in applied science. Open to new industry members and industry members who want to gain more formalized training experiences, these partnerships have been designed to support industry companies of all sizes to enable them to recruit and maintain a trained and educated workforce.

If you’re interested in becoming an apprentice or have a company that might like to sign on as an industry partner, please reach out to Liz Riley at elizabeth.riley@alamancecc.edu or (336) 506-4192.

On Friday, Oct. 14, the University of Mount Olive (UMO) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its bus-based mobile laboratory, UMObile, which is intended to provide educational opportunities in agriculture and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects. “Instead of making discoveries in a lab, we want to be able to take all our equipment to where opportunity and discovery truly are: out in the field, within our communities and with all ages of students,” said Dr. Sarah Lahman, associate professor of biology at UMO, of UMObile’s outreach mission.

The idea for the mobile lab came about as faculty members within the UMO School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences were discussing ways to reach a variety of audiences, including students interested in agriculture, as well as conservationists, educators and farmers. “A mobile lab was not the original goal,” noted Dr. Sandy Maddox, dean of the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences. “But after much deliberation on the specifics of a new biology field lab, the idea of a bus that has been repurposed to house lab equipment became the frontrunner. To date, the concept has been quite successful.”

According to Dr. Lahman, UMObile houses state-of-theart technology, including incubators for tissue cultures; a DNA sequencer; environmental probes; and computers for analyzing, visualizing and sharing results. “These features make the new lab a valuable addition to UMO’s repertoire of educational outreach materials,”she added. Dr. H. Edward Croom, UMO president, sees UMObile as a great way for faculty to reach students and foster early interest in STEM-related topics, while also promoting the university.

For more information or to schedule a visit from UMObile, visit umo.edu/mobile-lab.