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Macey
Hey everyone, welcome back to The Redlands Rundown, the official podcast of Redlands
Community College, where we are committed to helping our students find success in
the classroom with their careers and everything in between. Today, we're going to
take a closer look into our Ag department and all the different opportunities and
teams that we have there. And today we have a very special guest with us, my husband
Spencer Scotten. I'll let you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what
you do here at Redlands.
Spencer
Yeah. You bet. Thanks, Macey. Thanks for having me on. Love the show and excited to
be on it and get to highlight our Ag department. So, like Macy said, my name is Spencer
Scotten. I, recently, am from Missouri and came down here, it's been several years,
but I got hired on in 2019. So, this is year seven for me. So, I am the livestock
judging team coach and instruct a few classes and then also in the competitive teams
coordinator here within our Ag department. And so got a few different jobs, probably
the main one that takes up most of my time is the livestock judging team. I judged
in college and then coached collegiately while I was working on a master's, and then
went back home for a little bit. And then Brandon Callus, who was the coach, livestock
judge and coach here before me, was getting ready to hang it up and he was going to
transition to full-time faculty and called me and wondered if I wanted to come down
here. And so the rest is history.
Macey
Yeah. Awesome. And for those of you that don't know about Spencer's background, he
went judge junior college and senior college, and something that we both kind of have
in common is neither of us had a lot of experience in high school judging. And so
once we got to college, that was kind of our first really intense experience. And
so I think that's just a testament that you can still be competitive even if you are
not judging super actively and competitively in high school. Anyways, I just like
to mention that.
Spencer
Yeah, absolutely. And to kind of build off that, we have students that come in with
a wide variety of experience levels, some of them that have judged at every single
national contest in their, through high school, and then some of them, their first
set of reasons in their first contest that they go to is here as a collegiate contestant.
And so we've had awesome luck with both. We've had both of those kinds of backgrounds
end up as All-Americans and great contributors to our team. So yeah, it doesn't matter.
Doesn't matter where you start. You can pick it up pretty quick if you want to be
good.
Macey
Yeah. So since we've started talking about that a little bit, I want to talk for our
listeners who might not know about the livestock judging program. Can you explain
a little bit of what that looks like? What, what livestock judging entails?
Spencer
Yeah. So our livestock judging program is our biggest competitive team within our
Ag department. So what it looks like we will go around to a lot of different fairs
and a lot of different livestock expos that they host collegiate contests. And what
that looks like is we generally will have 12 classes that are put in front of us to
judge, and there will be four animals per class. And so our students will go in and
place those classes and then see how that lines up to an official committee of industry
experts that they have at each one of those contests. And so each class is worth 50
points. And then we also give eight sets of reasons on eight of the 12 of those classes.
And those students will prepare a set of reasons explaining why they did what they
did, and go in and tell that to one of those official judges, and they will get scored
out of 50 on that. And so each contestant has a team score or has a individual score
of 1000 points total, and that makes most of the time our team score. There's usually
five members per team, and that makes our team score worth 5000 total. And so we just
see if we can score the most out of 5000 and hopefully more than the rest of the teams.
Macey
Yeah. So you've hinted to it a little bit some of the skills that the students get.
Obviously, they're learning more about livestock, but can you touch a little bit on
some of the skills that really help those students long-term because of their experience?
Spencer
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Obvious; the livestock component is a big part of it. And
hopefully the students that come here, that most of them are going to have a lot of
livestock background and hopefully we build on that and they continue to learn more
about livestock of probably more species than their familiar with background. And
so obviously, you're going to get a little more in-depth on the livestock side of
things. But also, I don't know of a career that you can go into that doesn't have
benefit of making a decision, being able to stand behind the ability to speak in public
and have those students go out and, you know, be able to present if they're in sales
or in research or, you know, a wide variety of career paths that these students can
go down. I don't think there's any one career that wouldn't benefit from livestock
judging. And we see a lot of our students, I would say the majority of them, will
end up staying in the Ag industry. But there's a lot of, of our students that, you
know, branch out and they'll go into other industries.
Macey
And another aspect I think that opens some doors for opportunity with our students
is we travel to practice and go to contests. And so there's a lot of networking opportunities
for our judgers to connect with different producers and industry professionals. So
sometimes I feel like that can open employment opportunities. Or if they want to start,
you know, raising their own livestock and they might have met, you know, so-and-so
on a judging trip and go back to purchase something to start their own operation.
So. it's, it's fun to see that kind of come full circle whenever it does.
Spencer
Yeah. And even you're talking about the networking always say that's the most awesome
thing that a student can experience with the two-year programs, the teacher judging
programs, and then going on to the university level. We're going to have students
from all across the country attend our program. And so I haven't counted it up this
year, but most years we're over 20 states represented from coast-to-coast here at
Redlands. And the same with a lot of other collegiate programs. And so just the network
that you make of other students and producers that you meet along the way, there isn't
anywhere in the country that you can go that you don't have some somebody that's part
of the same network kind of brotherhood that that you get to experience and be a part
of.
Macey
Yeah. So awesome. I'm glad that we've highlighted the judging team. For those of our
listeners that don't know, we actually have several competitive teams in our Ag department
here at Redlands. And so livestock judging is just one of the teams. I want to talk
about some of our other competitive teams that we also have. So, first thing I want
to talk about is our Beef show team. Can you explain to our listeners what our Beef
show team is?
Spencer
Yeah for sure. So, whenever I came on that freed up Callus, he got the beef show team
fired back up Again. It had kind of sat dormant for a few years. And so whenever I
came on, that freed up him to expand that just a little bit more. So our beef show
team will have around 15 to 20 students that participate in that. Typically, they
exhibit and show and work on the Redlands cattle, and every year they'll buy a few
new heifers that they'll take out to different open shows throughout the year. And
then also they will AI a lot of our better ones, and then they will break those and
exhibit our, our cattle. So it's been a great opportunity for students that want to
stay involved in showing cattle and livestock. There's been, you know, several of
them that don't come from a cattle background, that came to be on our beef show team
that have had an awesome experience. And so that's just another thing within our department
that's really grown our department since I've been here, and it's been a great recruiting
tool and a great experience for those students as well.
Macey
And so our other team that we have in addition to the beef show team, is our shooting
sports team, and we actually just brought on a new faculty or staff out at the Ag
department. So you know him better than I do. So I'll let you talk about shooting
sports and you enjoy that more than, than I do.
Spencer
You bet. So I'll talk a little bit about that. Oh, I forgot to mention Merideth Behrens
is our beef show team coach now. So, she was a student here that participated in that
program and then went to OSU and graduated in them. Now she's back. Her and her brother
went here to Redlands. And so a lot of the social media posts with our team pictures
and judging camp, Griffin's done. And, and Meredith is back now full-time with us.
And she does an awesome job with that. So, I forgot to mention that that she's in
charge of that now. But yeah, we'll move on to our shooting sports program, which
is relatively new for us here at Redlands. That's our newest team within our Ag department.
We just hired on Brayden Bliss, who is our new shooting sports coach, and he went
to college in Nebraska and was very competitive on a team where he went there. And
so we're excited to get that going. And one of the largest activities in especially
in the state of Oklahoma for high school contestants. And we have the Oklahoma Trap
and Skeet Association headquarters here in El Reno. And a lot of times we'll have
host shoots, high school shoots to shoot at OIE, the trap shoot, they'll have close
to 1000 students that are a part of that.
Spencer
And so that's been a huge growth across the state of Oklahoma and across the country.
And so we're excited to have a team and go out and showcase our students on that front
as well. So yeah, Brayden, he's going to hit the ground running. He just got here
this semester, full-time. And, and so we're excited. We're excited about that as well.
Our Ag program, with the inclusion of all of our competitive teams that we've seen
great growth over the few years. So that's really been exciting for our program.
Macey
Yeah, I'm really excited to see the continued growth. And you mentioned on the livestock
judging team, but even on the beef show team and shooting sports, that's a great recruitment
for even out-of-state students to come to us and join our team and bring their experiences
over to, over to Redlands. So cool. Awesome. So I like that there's a lot of different
areas where people can get involved, just depending on maybe what they did in high
school or even if they didn't do something in high school. There's still a lot of
opportunities for them to join a team. There's a few other things that our students
can do to get involved. And so the first thing I want to talk about is our show goat
herd. And I know Derek Pearson kind of runs and manAges all of our show goats, but
that's another opportunity for our students to get involved and learn a little bit
more about that industry. So can you tell us a little bit about what the goals are
of our show goat herd here at Redlands, and just kind of how students help out with
that?
Spencer
Yeah, absolutely. I'll speak on that. And there's as we go through a lot of these
talking points and a lot of things that are going on in our Ag department, there's
a lot going on and there's a lot to be involved in. And so we use a lot of our livestock
for our classes and different labs that we've got. We've got a goat herd obviously,
that Macey touched on, and then we've got right around 50 head of cattle as well.
And so with the beef show team and then with our animal science and repro labs, we'll
always do different labs and have a lot of hands on experience for our students. And
that's where we get a lot of good Ag students that maybe aren't interested in being
on a competitive team, but our Goat program is another one of those that really fast
growing.
Spencer
Whenever I got here, Sam Nusz was actually in charge of that, and I can't say enough
about him and what he did for a program. And then he retired a couple of years Ago.
And then Derek Pearson, a lot of you guys know Annie Pearson, who was the department
head whenever I got hired on here in our Ag department, and now she's our VP here
on main campus. And so her husband, Derek, was the Ag teacher here in El Reno. And
then he took over, over at Darlington. And so we our program and our goats are 100%
geared towards raising show goats. And so kind of a cool thing about our goat herd
is we actually all of our goats that were born the last two years have been a product
of our flush program, and they've all been embryo babies that we actually have made
in our small ruminant repro lab. And so that's one of the unique things that we have
on campus at our Ag facility, that we've got that small ruminant repro lab, that we
not only do a lot with the schools goat herd, but also a lot of producers that are
around the area will hall in, utilize our facilities, and it's been a great resource
for not only people here or herd here at Redlands, but then also a lot of producers
from the area that come in and utilize our program to expand their herd and make,
make their goat herds better. And so the last couple of years, it's been awesome to
see the kind of quality that we've been able to crank out. And then we've been marketing
those online. And then Derek has several student workers that he has as a part of
his program. And so obviously it takes a lot and it takes a lot of time and a lot
of effort for that. But also it's giving those students a great hands on experience
to learn how to raise livestock, get them ready and market them and promote them at
the online sales and working with different customers. It's been really cool to see
that, and another way that our students can get a great hands on opportunity and kind
of build on what they're already doing in the classroom, out of the classroom as well.
Macey
Yeah, I feel like that's what makes our Ag department a little bit unique is the opportunity
for so much hands on learning. I don't know, I'm sure there are other schools, especially
the bigger four-year universities, but I don't know that there's a ton of community
colleges where students early on in their collegiate career can get exposure and experience
like that, and something that Scotti Charmasson, our current department head for the
Ag Department, talks about, especially within her internship classes. We really want
to help our students get exposure to the field that they're interested in. And so
those different opportunities are a few of the ways that we try to expose those students
to, to different areas of the, of the livestock industry, so.
Spencer
And I always say at going one of the benefits at the community college level, especially
here at Redlands, where we have smaller class sizes, we've got the access to livestock
and the facilities where those students get a little more hands on than I would say
most. And you talked about the four-year universities. Most of them are going to have
those livestock herds and access to do all that, but as far as your freshman and sophomore
year, as you're taking those introductory level classes, you're going to be in there
with a ton of kids. And so you're probably not going to get as much hands on. And
so I always say one of the benefits, aside from the involvement that you can have
and what one of our competitive teams or other organizations that we'll talk about
here in just a second is the smaller class sizes, and then a little more hands on
with what we get to do here and what we have access to. So I always say that's just
an added benefit that you can find here. And so I think that's another awesome thing
that we get to do within our Ag department.
Macey
Yeah. So while we're on the topic of hands on experience and learning, I want to talk
about our AI certificate that we offer our students. So for those that are past alumni
and graduates that have probably majored in animal science, it's very easy for us
to build in an AI certificate, which is just another way to get some hands on experience.
And for those that are non-Ag listeners, when you think of AI, you probably are thinking
of artificial intelligence. When we refer to AI as livestock producers, we're talking
about artificial insemination. So will you explain that program and what students
can learn from that?
Spencer
Yeah, absolutely. So embedded within our Ag degrees, those students can also pick
up a certificate of mastery for AI, artificial insemination. And those students will,
are required to be enrolled in several classes that they will generally already be
enrolled in and have taken within our Ag degrees. And then Scotti runs our AI seminar,
which is a two-day seminar that she does in the Fall and the Spring, where those students
will have a lot of knowledge-based learning in the classroom, but then also get a
lot of hands on experience, whether it's looking at repro tracks or looking at different
things out in the lab where they get, Again, just another awesome thing that we have
here within our department that those students can leave with another certificate
of mastery there with our AI program.
Macey
Yeah. So this can really help to launch students Again that are looking to, you know,
become producers. That's a really valuable skill to be able to do yourself, you know,
and to advance your own beef herd. And even on the smaller ruminants side, it's, you
know, more common. We focus on, on the cattle, probably more than anything, but there's
exposure to all different species and how that works with, with all the different
species. So yeah, that's that's something that we can build into a degrees. And a
lot of our students that are majoring in animal science, general Ag typically do go
ahead and do it just because it's a great skill to have. Awesome. Okay. So I want
to transition now into our student leadership opportunities. We've talked a lot about
our competitive teams, our hands on learning experiences, but I think we should talk
about our leadership opportunities. So the first thing that we can discuss a little
bit is our Aggie club. So I'm actually a co-sponsor of Aggie Club myself, Merideth
and Scotti Charmasson, and we all kind of run Aggie Club together. Do you want to
talk a little bit about, about what Aggie Club is?
Spencer
No, you can talk about it.
Macey
Okay, so Aggie Club is really just for any student that's interested in Agriculture.
You don't have to be an Agriculture major to be involved in Aggie Club, but we do
a lot of fun things throughout the year. We usually start off the year the first week
or so with a back-to-school mixer. We went to the bowling alley the last few years
just so we can get all of our new freshmen, returning sophomores together, and everyone
gets to meet each other and we have a fun time. And so we'll do a few fun things throughout
the year like that. We go to Topgolf usually before Christmas break. But then another
thing that we like to do is we really like to get involved within the community. So
we'll do some community service type things. If that's going to Lord's Harvest, sometimes
we'll go to the food bank. So there's a couple of different community service type
projects that we try to take on. And then big thing is, at the end of the year, we
always have our Aggie Club banquet, which is usually the night before graduation,
where we get all of our Ag department together. We highlight our teams, our Ag Ambassadors,
and wrap up the year together. We have a silent auction as a fundraiser. And so those
are some of the different responsibilities that our Aggie Club members have. There's
leadership opportunities within Aggie Club to serve as president, vice president,
lots of different officer positions so you can get involved with that. But Aggie Club
is a super fun thing to do. I was an Aggie club when I was a student here and really,
really enjoyed it. The other opportunity that we have is our Ag ambassadors. And so
our Ag ambassadors, that's that's a little more of a formal application process. Scotti
will usually post that on our Ag Facebook pAge. So if you aren't following Redlands
Agriculture on Facebook, make sure you give us a follow. That's where we post all
of our team results and, you know, current happenings and things that we're doing.
But Aggie or Ag ambassadors are our students that help represent our Ag department
at different things throughout the year. So we might have a prospective student come
and take a tour. Sometimes our Ag ambassadors will help give that tour. Our Ag ambassadors
might go to different events like district shows and things like that to help, you
know, run those. They'll represent the college with our, our booth, and then they'll
go to state FFA convention, talk with FFA members and high school up there. So there's
a lot of different ways that our Ag ambassadors can get involved. And we've got a
really big group right now. I think we've got about 40. We had a ton of great applicants
last year, and so we've talked about a lot of different opportunities, and a lot of
our students are involved in several of those. Although like livestock judging is
a big time commitment. You know, a lot of our livestock judges are also in Aggie Club,
in Ag ambassadors. And so there is still the option and ability to do multiple things
and be involved in, in all those different areas. So those are just a couple of our
student leadership opportunities. Do you have anything to add about either of those?
Spencer
Yeah for sure. And just to touch on just some different things that we have in all
of the opportunities that we've got to be involved. And I think I can speak for me
and all of our faculty and saying, we really like our students to be involved and
engAged not only inside the classroom but outside the classroom. And we are, we are
really excited about all of our students that are on those competitive teams in those
leadership programs. And there's a lot of, lot of ways that those students can be
involved. And I would say as an Ag faculty, we are excited to see that, and we really
see those students that are more involved, that have more success in the classroom.
And then also those are great opportunities to put on scholarship applications, resumes
down the road, and so we're trying to build a well-rounded student here at Redlands.
And you can be as involved as you want here.
Macey
Yeah. And another thing that I'll touch on that we don't probably like formally advertise,
but our another class or program that I really like for our students to help set them
up for success as they move through their collegiate and professional careers, our
Ag internship class. That's, I believe, required for all of our Ag students to complete
at some point while they're at Redlands. But that's a class where our students get
college credit for some kind of either paid or unpaid position. And so that's another
way that we really encourAge our students to get exposure in the field that they're
interested in. And the great thing is we have so much support in our community and
with producers around us that we usually have no trouble finding a spot for our students
to intern or have a part-time job. I want to shout out ODAF because we have an exclusive
partnership with them where our students can, you know, work with a state, you know,
a producer within Oklahoma and help them develop a secure food supply plan. And so
that's just one of the many opportunities that our students have within that course.
Again, to get exposure and experience in the field that they're interested in. So
yeah, we love our students to be involved in a lot of different ways, whether it's
in the classroom, outside of the classroom, and most of our students are, so.
Spencer
And we think it's important that those students are looking at different career paths.
And if they are set on, hey, this is what I want to do, we'll try to set them up with
an internship in that field. And sometimes they think, hey, I don't think this is
for me. And so it's important to know that before you finalize your degree plans and
finalize your career path, whether you actually like that or not, some of them absolutely
love it. They figure out, hey, I have never heard of this, but I'm going to do an
internship with this program and they can take off and hit the ground running. And
they love it and, and get exposure to a lot of different things that, that are available.
Macey
So as we're kind of wrapping up and getting closer to the end, I want to circle back
to some bigger picture questions that I want you to share your opinion or your experiences
about. So first thing is, I want to, I want us to talk like we're talking to a student
that might be listening, who's thinking about coming to Redlands and answer some questions
why they should consider our Ag program. They might be looking at a few other colleges,
that can thing. So we've talked a lot about this, but what do you really feel like
makes Redlands special?
Spencer
I think the biggest thing is we've talked about the involvement, the competitive teams
that you can be a part of here. There are so many opportunities within our Ag department
here at Redlands. But I think the main thing, it always circles back to the people
and, I'm pretty biased, but I do think that our faculty within our Ag department,
it is better than anywhere. And I've seen so much support for our students here with
all of our faculty and our want to see those students succeed not only at the two-year
level, but we try to set our students up for success if they are going right into
the workforce. We've had a lot of students that go right into the workforce and do
that and find their career and do an awesome job there, but a lot of them transfer
on to the four-year level and in different universities, and we love to see that as
well. And so we want to set them up for success here at the two-year level. But across
the board, our faculty and staff here and the support of our students, no matter what
they want to do in the future, the support is there. And like I said, I'm biased,
but I think better than anywhere else. And that's the main thing where I think Redlands
is different from a lot of other colleges that those students could be a part of.
Macey
Yeah, I couldn't Agree more. And not only between just our Ag faculty, but also our
administration on main campus at the highest level. They are so supportive of our
Ag department and our teams and our students, and so it's great to have that support
all the way to the very top. They're always checking in on how we're doing and really
supportive of of us. And, you know, we're out on the road a lot. And we one of our
main priorities, especially for our livestock judges, we want them to be good students.
We want them to go to class, but we're on the road sometimes. But we still have a
lot of support from faculty and staff and admin that maybe aren't directly involved
in the Ag department.
Macey
So that's another thing that I feel like really sets Redlands apart. So I want to
have you reflect on your personal experience here. Can you share with us, like maybe
one of the most rewarding experiences that you've had while you've been at Redlands?
I know you're going to-what are you on year seven? [Year seven.] Yep. So can you share
something that maybe like really stands out to you?
Spencer
Yeah, yeah, it's been an awesome journey here. And like I mentioned earlier, I got
hired on in the summer of 2019. So if you remember back, what, 2020, what the year
2020 had in store for us, it was tough to get going in a first year, first year doing
anything. And those of you that that are in education, no matter what level it is,
you know that first year there's a lot, there's a lot to take in, a lot to get figured
out. And then my through my first year, that spring of 2020, the whole world shut
down. And so I was having trouble getting everything in a line, lined up and figuring
out what I needed to do even before that happened. And then Covid hit and then navigating
that was a was a huge hurdle, I think, for everybody. And I'll speak for me as well.
And then as we got back going, what probably one of the biggest things that that I've
seen is just that I'm the most proud of is just the growth of our Ag department. From
the time I got here till now, I think we have done an awesome job with our competitive
teams, with our faculty, bringing in great students, and just the growth of our Ag
program has been exceptional. You know, we've obviously had, you know, great success
with the livestock judging team and they've been doing really, really well over the
last several years. And so, you know, that's been great to see. And whenever, whenever
I first came on, probably my biggest goal was I was dead set-Hey, my sole focus is
winning. Winning a, winning a contest, having success for our program. And while that
is still a huge goal of mine, a lot of what I've seen or, you know, students that
go out and, you know, get a degree that if they weren't involved in livestock judging,
probably wouldn't have stayed in school and stayed committed to that. But they had
us. They had coaches at the four-year level that pushed them, that held them accountable.
And so that's been awesome to see. And it's been great to see our students have success
here. But even in just the last couple years since I've started some of those students
that have been graduates of our program, they are leaders in whatever industry that
they're in. And so, yeah, whenever I first came on, it was, hey, I am gung ho. I just
want to win judging contests and, and have success for the program. And that's it.
And like I said, well, that's still a huge goal and a focus that we're going to have
here. Probably the biggest thing is, is whenever we see those students move on and
transition to the four-year level, they're, they're leaders at whatever university
they choose to attend. And then whenever they go out into the workforce, there are
a tremendous amount of our students that have been in our Ag program and been a part
of our livestock judging team that are really, you know, young leaders in, in a lot
of different industries. So that's been that's, that's absolutely been the most incredible
thing to see.
Macey
Yeah. We always feel really proud when we see our students that are succeeding and
they're doing awesome things after they graduate. You're, if you come to Redlands
and you go through the Ag department, it doesn't matter how long you've been graduated,
you're always going to have support from, from everyone here at Redlands in the Ag
department. We're going to we're going to share your stuff on Facebook. We're going
to show up. We'll be your, we'll be your cheerleading section, that's for sure. So,
any final words for any students that might be looking at Redlands Ag Department thinking
about coming here? Do you have anything that you want to want to share with them as
we wrap up?
Spencer
Yeah. So hopefully as you listen to this, you got to see what all that you can be
involved in here as a student. And the benefits that I think are here as a part of
our college, I think there are so many opportunities and ways to be involved and ways
to set yourself up for success and how to go about, you know, looking at our college
and, you know, looking at being a part of our program, you can reach out to us and
within our Ag department to set up a tour. Or you can go online and set up a college
and official college visit here, and we can get you here and get you on campus and
show you everything that we have to offer. And I would encourAge students to do that
no matter where they're looking at going. Take a visit, see what all those programs
have to offer, find your best fit for you to have success, and then pull the trigger
and go all in and go for it.
Macey
Yeah. Awesome. I think that's, that's great advice. We're always happy to to host
students who are interested and show them around. And like Spencer said, anywhere
that you're considering going, check it all out and all your different options because
you'll get a feel of what feels right for you. Well, Spencer, thank you so much for
joining us. This is really fun for me to get to highlight our Ag department. I'm like
you, naturally, I'm biased about our Aggie department and our people and students,
but we truly have a special program here. So thank you for joining us. Thank you for
joining us Again to our audience and our listeners. Make sure to follow us wherever
you listen to your podcast, and we'll see you next time. Bye.
