Hoosier Agribusiness and Science Academy
Urban high school and middle school students in 20 schools throughout Indiana are given the opportunity to learn about agriculture thanks to a program launched by Lt. Governor Becky Skillman in 2006. The Hoosier Agribusiness and Science Academy (HASA) is providing students with hands-on experiences to explore agriculture and agribusiness.
Lt. Governor Skillman, who serves as Indiana's Secretary of Agriculture, created HASA to give all students exposure to Indiana’s agriculture – an industry that generates $26 billion annually and employs 17 percent of the workforce. She also wants Indiana’s youth to be prepared for careers in science, technology, and agribusiness. Many students who graduate from HASA are often the first generation in their family to attend college.
Read about Rocío Méndez’s experience in HASA. She credits HASA as a reason she decided to become the first in her family to attend college and earn a degree to allow her to be a registered nurse.
There are several partners who make HASA possible, including Purdue University’s College of Agriculture. The university hosts a Summer Institute on its campus each year that gives students a springboard to achieve a higher education and highly successful careers.
Participants in the Summer Institute take part in educational presentations taught by tenured university professors, participate in hands-on labs, and travel on field trips designed to provide real-life college and agricultural science experiences. Field trips include visits to Fair Oaks Dairy Farms and Dow AgroSciences. Need-based scholarships are available.
For more information about HASA, see the information below. You may contact Virgil Madden, Lt. Governor Skillman’s Office, with any additional questions at vmadden@lg.IN.gov or Pam Morris, Purdue University’s College of Agriculture, at pmorris@purdue.edu or 765-494-8293.
Additional Information about HASA:
Indiana's Agriculture Cultivates New Opportunities for Urban
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