November 2 – Jeremy Peaches is one College of Agriculture and Human Sciences graduate who knows the importance of giving back and keeping the spirit of agriculture alive. He credits his life-long passion for plants and animals to his rural upbringing in Greenville, Mississippi, but when his family moved to Houston, it was hard for him to find agriculture outlets in his new urban surrounding. This experience played a significant role in his decision to attend Prairie View A&M University and focus on agriculture.
Peaches entered the CAHS in 2010 where he majored in Agriculture with a concentration in Animal Science. He was active in numerous campus organizations that revolved heavily around his passion for agriculture, a member of MANRRs, Rodeo and Livestock Clubs, as well as a stint as Student Senator of Agriculture for Student Government Association during the 2012-2013 school year. To better prepare for a career in agriculture, he took on-campus jobs and internships with the International Goat Research Center and was a student worker with the Cooperative Extension Program, a role that he would revisit a few years later.
Though familiar with agriculture for most of his life, he considers PVAMU the foundation that sent him beyond the basics. “It wasn’t until I went to Prairie View that I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge. I was able to express my passion through the opportunities that the College of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Program, and Cooperative Agricultural Research Center offered.”
Peaches first professional agricultural position was working the commercial aquaponics farm for the middle school he attended as a child. He then went on to work for Fresh Life Organics, an agriculture service farm. After noticing less youth were involved with agriculture and numbers were declining in CAHS enrollment, he wanted to do his part to bring more students into the field of agriculture. Peaches returned to his roots at PVAMU and is now a CEP Extension Agent for Harris County. “I wanted to bridge the gap by teaching kids about 4-H, Cooperative Extension, and agriculture in an urban setting,” said Peaches. Now as an agent, he conducts demonstrations for 4-H students and helps the university to charter 4-H clubs at various schools.
The time Peaches spent as a CAHS student helped fuel one of his passions, and ignited a new desire to draw others into an essential factor in our everyday life in agriculture.
Taelor Smith
Communications Specialist
tasmith@pvamu.edu
(936) 261-5155