my first career orientation :)

Engineers. Chefs. Teachers. Doctors. Nurses.

These are just some of the professions that 35 high school students were aspiring to be when they grow up. These students were participants of the career orientation program sponsored by volunteers from the General Electric Money Servicing Philippines, Inc. and from the Food for the Hungry International, in partnership with the International Rice Research Institute.

Listening to these students' career aspirations, I realized that the concerns raised last year, during an armchair discussion with high-level scientists,were more urgent than I thought. In a world where agriculture is becoming increasingly science-driven, it appears that the next generation of professionals still think that agriculture is only about "magtanim ay 'di biro". And yet, none of these students consider agriculture as a viable career option.

Web specialist. Agronomist. Molecular Biologist. Grain quality specialist.

These are the people IRRI fielded on December 21 to talk about the possibilities of pursuing careers in the agricultural sciences. It was a tough call for Jun Correa, Darell Sison, Mico Duenas, and me; we had to show them that the sciences are not exclusively for the brainy/nerdy/geeky bunch.

Jun talked about how information technology and agronomy go hand-in-hand in helping farmers maximize resources. Darell shared stories about how his work on information dissemination via the internet brought him to where he is today. Mico presented slides about what molecular biologists do and how concepts in his field can improve the nutrient content and the tolerance to pests, diseases, and unfavorable growth conditions of rice. I described the multidisciplinary nature of grain quality science and then answered the participants' questions about rice as a food source.
Why are some rice varieties called 'sticky rice'? What's the difference between brown and black rice? Why do rice grains harden as they are cooled?

Were we successful in opening these students' minds to the possibilities in the rice sciences? I don't know. I think that we could consider ourselves successful that day if some of these high school students eventually become agricultural scientists... or become other types of professionals who apply their work in agriculture (like the economists, the information technologists, and the agricultural engineers).

One thing's for sure though: we were able to pique their curiosity about rice as food. The fastest way to a person's heart is still through food, I believe.