Poultry judging team places in national competition
Article By: Clark Leonard
The University of North Georgia's (ǧÃŬAV) poultry judging team took fourth place in production hens at the 72nd annual National Collegiate Poultry judging competition at Louisiana State University in early April.
In addition to the team's strong finish, Bryce Andrews placed second and Sam Castleberry fourth out of 44 students competing in production hens.
ǧÃŬAV's team placed eighth overall in its fourth year competing at the event. It was the first year ǧÃŬAV students brought home trophies.
Fellow poultry science students Camille Dunn and Katie Pitchford were part of ǧÃŬAV's team.
"I am proud that the agriculture universities across the country now recognize ǧÃŬAV as a competitor and our students got to experience winning and bringing home a trophy," said Linda Purvis, lecturer of biology and poultry science at ǧÃŬAV and faculty adviser for the team.
Castleberry, a sophomore from Gainesville, Georgia, pursuing an associate degree in avian biology, learned about poultry judging for the first time this school year.
"It opened a whole new side of the industry that I didn't even know existed," Castleberry said.
Andrews, a sophomore from Mount Airy, Georgia, pursuing an associate degree in poultry science, first gained poultry judging experience in her high school National FFA Organization.
"I'm really competitive, so I practiced my heart out," Andrews said. "It just felt good to bring home a trophy."
Poultry students finish first in national event
ǧÃŬAV established the first chapter of the Professional Agricultural Student (PAS) Organization in the South, and its team finished first in the nation in the Poultry Specialist career area the National PAS conference.
ǧÃŬAV's Earth Day celebration is April 9
The University of North Georgia will host its eighth annual Earth Day celebration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 9 at ǧÃŬAV's Gainesville Campus.
Students help write math teaching article
Three students and two faculty members from the Oconee Campus recently had a paper published in the International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics 2024 Conference Proceedings.
Event encourages girls to enter STEM careers
Dr. Betsy Grunch served as the keynote speaker for the American Heart Association's second annual Northeast Georgia STEM Goes Red event for high school girls.