By: Dr. Andrew Yox, Honors Director
NTCC’s Agriculture Club and Program again proved this past 14 September that their expertise with food remains an important collegiate asset. They cannot only produce fresh foods in sustainable, scientific ways, but prepare them in the form of a delectable, regionally themed dinner. The NTCC honors program, in turn, enjoyed its eighteenth fall-semester get-together in as many years, bringing 73 parents, family members and students to the Agriculture building for a sumptuous evening meal. It was the largest gathering for an honors roundup in the history of the series, surpassing the group of 70 that showed up in 2015. The students of the Agriculture Club under the direction of Rene McCracken provided a western assortment of smoked sausages and chicken, including a recipe for the regional dish of Pittsburg hot links. These were served with tortillas, cowboy mashed tators, green beans, and assorted drinks. Christine Yox provided two home-baked desserts, snickerdoodle cake, and smores bars.
The annual dinner has been beholden to patrons of Honors Northeast, particularly, over the years, Drs. Jim and Paula Archer, and Dr. Mary Hearron. Dr. Jim, an Emeritus Professor and his wife Paula, who worked for I.B.M., initiated the roundups back in the fall of 2007, hosted them at their ranch for the first thirteen years, and have continued to support the program. Emeritus Professor, Dr. Hearron provided and cooked the hamburgers for that whole first skein of roundups, and she also has continued to support the program.
The evening concluded with some water games. Honors students, Monse Rivero and Ariceli Landaverde won the water balloon toss, and the students of the entering BioTex Seminar won the fill-the-bucket game.
