HOUSTON – The College of Agriculture and Human Sciences just celebrated its 35th consecutive year at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the longest-running presence of an HBCU in the event’s history. The CAHS booth is an exciting opportunity to greet alumni of all ages, offer fun treats and trinkets to the thousands of people that pass by, and introduce our college to potential students and partners.
The CAHS booth is standard fare for the rodeo: a tablecloth, pamphlets, pens, banners, and our smiling volunteers ready to discuss all things Ag. But the uniqueness of the booth comes from the larger history behind it. CAHS has been intertwined with the rodeo for over 66 years. The Prairie View Trail Riders Association, made up of PVAMU graduates and affiliates, has promoted agriculture and core principles integral to black Western culture for decades.
A few of the association’s trailblazers, the late CAHS Professor Alfred Poindexter, Ph.D., Myrtis Dightman, Sr. (the first African American to compete in the National Finals Rodeo and a Black Cowboy Hall of Famer), and Freddie Richardson, built a relationship with the rodeo over the years which led to the college’s foray into participating in the mega event.
While many PVAMU alumni have come and gone, one person has been with the school for decades and at the center of the college’s rodeo participation for most of its history. CAHS Program Specialist Chandra Adams is a proud PVAMU alum. She began studying at the university under Poindexter in 1978 and has never looked back. The college brings her joy, she says, a feeling that only enhances at the rodeo.
“Being at the booth and running into alum is like coming home,” Adams said. “We’ll start talking about the past, reminding ourselves about professors and friends that have come and gone, and it’s just a great atmosphere.”
Stop by the rodeo at any time, and you are likely to see Adams at the booth, chatting up attendees and helping them to understand the beauty and legacy of PVAMU as she does. Adams’ roots at the university are so strong that she has even pulled her family into its orbit. According to her, an Adams family member has been enrolled at the school consecutively since 1978. She feels it is a duty to keep Prairie View in the conversation when discussing agriculture in Texas because she knows how easily history can be lost or sanitized over time, and she works to keep the values and truth of the college alive.
“Our history here is long,” Adams said. “We have always been in the rodeo circuit, and I love to honor that. We need passion to do what we do.”
And Adams says she has the perfect answer to those who wonder why they should give PVAMU a chance: see for yourself.
“Come visit us,” Adams said. “Come see the farm and meet all the dedicated folks in the college and truly experience the college of agriculture in an authentic way. You will fall in love.”
Pascale Mondesir
Communication Specialist II
pamondesir@pvamu.edu
