A recent University of Nevada, Reno and Nevada 4-H alum is not wasting time putting his agricultural science w88 sports betting app to good use. A 2020 graduate from the University’s College of w88 online live casino, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, Connor Billman is serving for a year as a 4-H leader, w88 sports betting app teacher, teacher trainer and Extension agent in Ghana.
The work is part of the International Agricultural Education Fellowship Program of the Norman Borlaug Institute for International w88 sports betting app. Only nine applicants internationally were chosen to receive the prestigious fellowship in this inaugural year.
Billman’s work, funded in part by w88 sports betting app of Nevada, Reno Extension's 4w88 sports betting app Youth Development Program in Douglas County, is part of an effort to empower youth by developing in them leadership and entrepreneurship skills through 4w88 sports betting app, as well as to help the country's farmers.
"The basis of the w88 sports betting app is to elevate small-holder farmers out of poverty and hunger through agricultural science," Billman said. "The way that this is approached is through hands-on learning."
Billman oversees a school garden, where he teaches community members hands-on skills in w88 sports betting app, leadership, entrepreneurship and more.
He recently co-led the fellowship program's first teacher training, providing over 30 educators with two days of workshops on topics such as positive youth development, classroom management, school-based agricultural w88 sports betting app and lesson planning. He works with chiefs and community leaders, school staff and headmasters, and his students and 4-H clubs.
"I believe that as humans we are a bit like air – we fill the space of the container given to us," he said. "In 4w88 sports betting app and as a teacher, my motivation is to give students the opportunity to step into larger containers and develop skills that empower them to be successful."
Billman credits his experiences in 4-H, in which he raised and showed pigs and sheep, and his time at the University, for his desire and ability to positively impact Ghanaian youth and w88 sports betting app. Research by Tufts University shows that 4-H youth are four times more likely to contribute to their communities, and two times as likely to plan to go to college and pursue STEM opportunities outside of school.
"The College of Ag and 4w88 sports betting app gave me opportunities, relationships and mentorship that helped me to realize that I am capable and worthy, which propels me forward in life," he said. "In 4w88 sports betting app, I was offered opportunities at a young age to challenge myself and fail."
Billman grew up in Nevada's oldest town, Genoa, on his family’s cow-calf operation, Ranch One, which is Nevada's oldest ranch. From a young age, he was active in w88 sports betting app, from working on the ranch to participating in the Divine Swine and Carson Valley Shepherds 4-H Clubs in Douglas County. He writes to his old 4-H clubs from Ghana and plans to present to them about his experience there when he gets back.
At the University, Billman said he found his passions – w88 sports betting app, education, adventure and service – and those passions inspired him to teach abroad. As a student, he helped with the University’s NevadaFit Program that helps prepare incoming freshmen, worked as an irrigation technician, served as the College’s senator and helped to start a new student club, a Collegiate Chapter of Nevada Farm Bureau's Young Farmers & Ranchers Program, of which he served as vice president and president. He also worked as a research assistant on a grazing study in Nevada's Ruby Mountains near Elko. He studied abroad in Brazil, was a member of the University’s Climbing Club, worked various other w88 sports betting app-related jobs, and volunteered hundreds of hours restoring access roads in the wilderness and delivering meals to the elderly in Reno.
After graduation, the Fulbright Scholar’s original plans to teach in the Czech Republic and in Senegal were disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Even though my original plans had altered greatly," Billman said, "it didn't dull my spirit. I still felt a calling toward agricultural education and living abroad, which led to my selection as a fellow for the International w88 sports betting app Education Fellowship Program. Through this program, I am able to combine my passions all in one place."
Billman spent five weeks this summer undergoing various trainings in the U.S. to prepare him for his work in Ghana, and he has continued to receive in-country training, including cross-cultural and agricultural trainings, and site visits. Besides touring local landmarks, Billman learned about the slave trade history of Ghana and the country's independence. He received Twi language and Ghanaian w88 sports betting app Extension training, and he visited a fruit farm where he learned about Ghana's tropical fruit commodities, and how to harvest popo, or papaya.
To learn more about Billman and his experiences in w88 sports betting app, Graduate of the Pack: Connor Billman, International. To learn more about 4w88 sports betting app, Extension’s research-based youth development program, visit the w88 sports betting app's website.
