Lubbock, Texas - Texas Tech hosted the Rural Youth Catalyst Summit at the National Ranching Heritage Center on March 29, 2025
The Rural Youth Catalyst Summit was held on the last Saturday of March. 35 students from the South Plains and Panahandle Counties gave up half of their weekend to focus on their future plans.
Students learned about the different institutions that comprise a community. Some focused on the health system, but Lubbock High School sophomore Kaylyn Baker said she was more interested in the economics. Baker explained that the ultimate goal of the Summit was to influence students to bring their skills and services back to their rural communities after college.
Baker felt like some of her peers really benefitted from the Summit's message, but her future plans are headed in a different direction. She's more interested in plant and soil science and preferably in a town smaller than Lubbock.
"So right now I'm in the energy and natural resource class. And so, at the start of the year, we actually got to test soil and water samples from the Tech grounds that are around the Agri-STEM. And that was probably my favorite thing that we've done all year. It was really nice to see like the lab results and to understand the fertilizers and water quality and what certain nutrients do to the soil and the crop."
Baker said the classes at Lubbock ISD's Agri-STEM have been a large influence on her future career. She is serving as the Vice President for Lubbock's FFA Chapter and participates in Spanish Creed Speaking. She's considering attending Texas Tech but feels a D2 school like West Texas A&M would be more appropriate for her desire to play soccer.