The Akins Green Tech Academy has a wide variety of agriculture/animal classes.
The course options range from horticulture to veterinary medicine, park ranger/wildlife management, and floral design. This academy gives students many opportunities to earn Ag-related certifications, scholarships, and money for college, or to operate a business.
One of the first things students do in Green Tech to start our four-year career plan in the academy is to apply/join the FFA (Future Farmers of America). Students can begin buying and raising livestock in FFA as early as their freshman year. They can also attend and compete in livestock shows, which feature monetary and scholarship prizes for students.
The longer and more animals you show, the higher your chance of getting a scholarship in your senior year. For example, senior Lilly Gonzalez received a $3,000 Travis County Youth Show scholarship to Texas A&M for her hard work and accomplishments in the county. Gonzalez said her best advice for incoming Akins students is to be open to trying new experiences.
“You have to be willing to put your whole heart forward,” she said.
The Vet Med pathway is one of the most popular career pathways in the Green Tech Academy. Students must take three classes to be able to apply for the practicum: Small Animal Management, Equine Science, and Veterinary Medical Applications. Students can apply to over 15 different veterinary clinics and must complete 300 hours at the internship that accepts them.
The Green Tech pathways show students whether they want an animal- or plant-related career for their future, and if they do, it gives them amazing opportunities and connections for after graduation.
If animals aren’t really your jam, but you love nature, the Horticulture course has two pathways to choose from, offered in normal and advanced classes. Plant Science – Floral Design and Plant Science – Greenhouse/Landscape/Nursery both offer and teach Principles of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, Horticulture Science, and the option for a practicum in Horticulture/Floral Design with one of Akin’s community partners.
Senior Kimberly Ybarra, now a certified florist through Akins with a floral business of her own, encourages incoming floral pathway students to try new things.
“Always have an open mind to new things even if you think you won’t like it,” she said.
Another option is the Park Ranger Cadet program, which starts with the Principles of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources class, but the other available classes allow students to be out in real city parks and teach them how to identify wildlife and how to be safe in the wild.
Senior Joe Isaac, who obtained a paid internship with the City of Austin Parks and Wildlife Department through his involvement in the Akins Park Ranger Practicum, believes the program can help incoming students with real-life situations that can happen in wildlife, and how to be cautious.
“Akins Green Tech Academy and Akins as a whole is a community, no matter what academy you have to be willing to put your whole heart forward. Believe to succeed, Believe you want to succeed,” Gonzalez said.
