If you’re in high school and considering a career in agriculture, then you may want to consider Huntington University in Huntington, Indiana.
“I tell people I have the best job on campus. I can show up every day and see what God is going to do in the life of an 18-to-22 year-old, and do it within the aspects of agriculture. It is certainly an enjoyable part of my job,” says Nate Perry, Managing Director of the Haupert Institute of Agricultural Studies at Huntington University.
He says their program is unique from other universities that offer an agricultural studies program.
“We’re a Christian college. There are not a lot of Christian colleges across the country that offer a full gamut of majors in agricultural studies—from animal science to agronomy, crop science, agribusiness, ag education—we even offer a couple on the on the vet medicine side, so that’s unique,” he says.
Huntington University recognizes the unique relationship between opportunities in agriculture and the call to Christian stewardship. In fact, their motto for their Agricultural Studies program is “Faith. Family. Farming.”
“We don’t have a huge campus—just about 1,000 students, but a little over 10 percent of our student body is studying something in agriculture right now,” he says.
Nate credits Huntington University’s recently retired president, Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, with creating the agricultural studies program 10 years ago. Due to her leadership and the hard work of many with the university, Nate says the program has grown by leaps and bounds.
“I remember when people asked me ten years ago, I think it was here at the Fort Wayne Farm Show, how many students are you hoping for? And I said, more than one. We certainly have had that. With that first class in 2015, there were 12 students. And this year, we hit 50 freshmen. Right now, we’re at about 120 students in our program, so it’s been such a blessing,” he says.
You can learn more about the Haupert Institute for Agricultural Studies Huntington University by visiting Huntington.edu/Agriculture.
