Adelaide University ag science student Austin Zangari shares his experiences as an intern with the Almond Board of Australia in the video above .
Intern gets a taste for horticulture
ADELAIDE University ’ s ag science student Austin Zangari spent the summer as an intern with the Almond Board of Australia . Young Austin is a rare breed among his cohort at university . Few opt for careers in horticulture , let alone almonds . Austin grew up on the family vineyard at Renmark North . He is a third generation local who completed Year 12 at Renmark High School and then took a year off before venturing off to university . During his year working on vineyards with Kingston Estates , his passion for horticulture grew and he committed to an ag science degree at the Waite Campus . “ I really enjoyed my year with Kingston and could see a career in it ,” he said . “ There aren ’ t many focusing on horticulture , but I realised pretty early on that there is almost a guaranteed job at the end of the course if you stick at it .”
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There are endless opportunities if you are keen and willing to learn ...
The ABA approached young Zangari to spend the summer with its Industry Development Team and get a better understanding of growing almonds . “ It has been amazing ,” he said . “ I have learnt so much and everyone has been very helpful and very generous with their time .” Austin has also used his internship with the ABA to develop a research project for his third year studies . Statistics indicate that promising university graduates in ag science like Austin are usually recruited well before they complete their course . The fact that only a small number of each intake opt for horticulture places graduates in high demand . Sourcing enough qualified personnel for the almond industry is an ongoing issue that the ABA is hoping to tackle head on by developing recruitment and awareness programs for universities and high schools . “ The fact that I was able to spend the summer at home enjoying mum ’ s cooking and do this internship has been a real bonus . It has helped set me up for the year ahead and opened up my options when I finish .” Austin said more ag science students should consider careers in horticulture . “ I think there are endless opportunities if you are keen and willing to learn ,” he said . “ There was a lot of variety in my work at the ABA and I got an overview of the research being done , the issues faced on farm and met plenty of the key industry people all in one summer .”
industry . australianalmonds . com . au 17