WTAMU's Involvement at

Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

Dean of the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Dr. Kevin Pond, has been a board member of the International Stockmen's Educational Foundation for the past 13 years.

ISEF supports the instruction of stockmen worldwide by organizing and facilitating educational programs such as the International Livestock Congress at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.

Dr. Pond explained his dedication and commitment for youth in agriculture through ISEF.

"I am interested in promoting agriculture and the educational experiences of future leaders in the livestock industry across the world," Dr. Pond said.

He also described how his work with ISEF benefits the future of WTAMU.

"It’s a great opportunity to promote WTAMU and recruit top students to WT," Dr. Pond said.

Dr. Pond also serves as a judge for the HLSR Agricultural Science Fair and previously as a judge of the HLSR Speech Contest.

Associate Dean of the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Dr. Lance Kieth, has been involved with the Junior Beef Heifer Show for many years.

Dr. Kieth elaborated on his support of and history with the show. As well as the value HSLR has on youth and agricultural organizations.

"I have served as one of four show superintendents for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s Junior Beef Heifer Show for 20 years," Dr. Kieth said. "Serving as a superintendent has allowed me to assist youth with their livestock projects and to promote the

4-H and FFA Organizations. It has also provided an avenue to recruit students to WTAMU."

Assistant Professor of Animal Science: Meat Science, Dr. Trent Schwartz, judged abstracts and research poster presentations along with Dr. Pond at this year's Agricultural Science Fair at the HLSR.

The Agricultural Science Fair consists of research projects on topics such as animal and plant systems, natural resource systems and structural systems.

This was Schwartz's second year judging at the Agricultural Science Fair.

"We had a fantastic time judging abstracts at Houston," Dr. Schwartz said. "Competition was excellent and the top 5 research posters were exceptional."

WTAMU student, Megan Eckhardt, who is attaining her Ph.D. in Agriculture, was a recipient of the Student Travel Fellowship at the 2025 International Livestock Congress.

The ILC is a worldwide event that is held during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, where fellowships are awarded through the International Stockman's Educational Foundation.

These scholars are given the opportunity to attend ILC and have conversations with leaders in the agricultural industry.

Recipients come from across the world and WT's own Megan Eckhardt was one of them.

"As a HLSR ILC Fellow, I was honored to attend fully sponsored by an ILC Committee Member, in particular our own Dr. and Mrs. Pond," Eckhardt said. "My time at WT was been one of the most life-impacting and transforming experiences for me, as a young professional." 

Fellows are college seniors and graduate students who are tomorrow's leaders of both the livestock and meat industry.

Laura Reaves is a senior Agricultural Media & Communication major from Spring, Texas.

Reaves was also involved at this year's International Livestock Congress and served as a student intern.

Reaves explained her responsibilities while being involved at the ILC.

"My duties consisted of getting photos from the event," Reaves said. "Editing them and posting them to the ILC Facebook page."

Reaves also described the value of this opportunity.

"It was a very educational experience and the people were all amazing," Reaves said.

Students Travel to Gulf Coast on Ornithology Trip

Every Spring for the last 20 years WTAMU Wildlife Biology professor, Dr. Raymon Matlack and a group of students have traveled to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Austwell, Texas, to study Ornithology.

Ornithology is the type of zoology that studies birds, their characteristics, behavior and anatomy.

This year, Dr. Matlack and 17 students went on the 3-day field trip where they identified over 120 species of birds, some being endangered species, and saw dolphins, sea turtles and alligators.

Wildlife Biology major, Shefin Singh was among the students who were enrolled in Dr. Matlack's Ornithology class and who attended this year's trip.

"My biggest takeaway was to see and identify birds that we do not find in the Texas Panhandle," Singh said. "We saw birds that we have only seen in pictures and getting to see them in real life, seeing how different they look and learning to identify them in flight, is what I enjoyed learning about them."

This trip is an opportunity through Dr. Matlack's, BIOL*4433/5433 Ornithology classes.

"How Elite Teams Behave to Win," WT Teams Host Seminar

WT Rodeo Coach Cody Bonds organized a special event featuring Colonel Craig Flowers and WT alumnus Stran T. Smith '07,

co-authors of A Colonel and A Cowboy.  

Colonel Flowers is a retired Army veteran, and Smith is an 11-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier and the 2008 Tie-Down World Champion. 

On Monday, March 17 at 6:30 PM in the Piehl-Schaeffer Pavilion, Colonel Flowers and Smith hosted a seminar titled, "How Elite Teams Behave to Win." 

Bonds explained the value this experience had to the competitive teams at WTAMU.

"Having Colonel Flowers and Stran is an incredible opportunity for our team," Bonds said. "Learning firsthand from leaders who understand what it takes to build elite teams will be invaluable—not just for our athletes, but for myself as a coach. I'm excited to apply what we learn to help our team reach the next level."

The seminar brought together WT AG's top competitive teams, including the WT Meat Judging Team, WT Ranch Horse Team, WT Horse Judging Team and the WT Rodeo Team. It was estimated that over 100 members from the respective teams were in attendance.

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