Viewbook 2024: Linda Purvis Video Transcript
[Linda Purvis, Ph.D., Biology] - So my name is Linda Purvis, and I'm a professor on the Gainesville Campus of 果冻传媒. So I chose 果冻传媒 actually a long time ago. I actually came here as a student back in the 90s when this campus was Gainesville College, and I chose it then because it was the only school in the state who had a 2-year degree in poultry science. When I decided to get into teaching,
I chose 果冻传媒 because I was familiar with with it and also because I knew that it was a student-focused institution. So the poultry science program at 果冻传媒 is really a hidden gem. It was a hidden gem in the 90s when I came here, and it's still a little hidden gem here at the Gainesville Campus. What is so special about this program is that it is one of the very few two-year degrees that you can earn as a college student and go directly into the workforce and make a really good living, have promotion capabilities. Because the poultry industry is so huge in Georgia, they actually have an abundance of openings, and so one of the things that is really cool is that our students really don't have to search for a job. They usually have multiple offers their senior year or their year that they're graduating with their two-year degree. And they get to choose what field they want to go into.
Students have many opportunities with their poultry science degree. It is a very functional degree in a sense that we can help students get to wherever they want to go. If students have a desire to go into the poultry industry or the agriculture industry as a whole, anything from equipment to nutrition to animal care and welfare to servicing on the farm to working in processing plant to working through supply chain issues, the business side, computer science. A lot of the industry is heavily automated and technology-driven now. There really isn't anything that our students couldn't do with their degree if they so desire. So I love all the agriculture classes and the biology classes I get to teach here, but I guess my absolute favorite class is our intro to poultry science that I teach every spring. It's a class that I get the opportunity to share my passion for the industry and help students understand the industry. And so in that class we also go on a lot of field trips. So that's a unique thing about our situation here in Gainesville is the industry is literally all around us. And so not only are we in the classroom, but we actually go out into the industry and our students get to network and meet people in the industry, as well as see the real world that just can't be portrayed on a screen in the classroom.
You know, graduation, for me, is really exciting, and I love the feeling of watching these students achieve their goals. A lot of our students in our ag and poultry program are First-Gen students, and so being able to see them accomplish that and see their families be so proud that their students have earned a college degree. I've also had students in our program who are nontraditional who are coming back to do something different with their career. And so getting to see them walk across the stage and knowing that they're going to go make an impact in the industry.
The University of North Georgia has so many different things that we can offer students in addition to education. We have a lot of student organizations, we have a ton of resources to help students, we have a lot of different ways that students can get involved in competition teams without, you know, being on a scholarship for athletics. And I absolutely love that we have something for everyone. Find a way to get involved. Join at least one club, go do an intramural team, go be a part of something while you're here because that's what makes college different and unique. And that's what really helps make an impact on you as a student. It's not just being in the classroom, and it's not just earning a good grade. But it's being involved and then eventually giving back to your school.