The College of EHHD holds a showcase of community

On Thursday, Feb. 27, the Best Western Plus GranTree Inn on N. 7th Avenue hosted members of MSU’s College of Education, Health and Human Development (EHHD) for its annual showcase. There, a crowd milled about the various information tables and sampled hors d'oeuvres. 

EHHD is the home for a variety of programs ranging from education to exercise science. The event consisted of a fair showcasing various programs and projects from the college, live music, presentations from six award-winning EHHD faculty and staff and time for a Q&A from the presenters.

“Tonight, we recognize our outstanding faculty and staff and we showcase the incredible programs and centers in the college of EHHD,” said the Dean of EHHD Tricia Seifert during the opening speech. “This is one of my favorite of three nights of the year,” she said, referring to EHHD’s two other annual events that are intended to honor the college’s accomplishments and work in the community. 

The six speakers were chosen by their peers and represented different aspects of the college. The presentations ranged from personal narratives on education to examining the role of support services in college. 

The first speaker, associate professor in education Sarah Pennington, started off the night with a speech about middle schoolers. She explained why they are her favorite group to teach, contrary to the prevailing opinions of educators. “Yes, their frontal lobes are still squishy, but so are our college students,” Pennington said during her speech. “I want us to change our narrative about what we talk about in middle school.”

Assistant professor of hospitality management Wenhao Zhang was also one of the six speakers of the night. In her presentation she spoke on the joy and connections food can bring to communities, emphasizing that her Chinese heritage has greatly impacted the way she views food. 

“One thing has remained constant — food is never just food — it is a connection to home, it is a link to my past and it is a way to bring people together and to celebrate,” Zhang said during her presentation.

In her speech, Director of Buffalo Nations Food System Initiative — an Indigenous-led education and research Initiative — and assistant professor of sustainable food and bioenergy systems Jill Falcon Ramaker examined the role that the community plays in education. “Think about a place and a community that is most important to you,” she said. “Their coursework will lead them to deeper connections with the land and the community builders.”

Different program booths at the showcase also tapped into this sense of community. In a booth run by Chidimmai Ifeh — who works in the Food Product Development Lab on campus —  attendees were educated on her program work with local Montana businesses. 

“We do industry projects,” she said. “We also have an institutional pilot lab, where we work with lentils and make textured vegetable proteins, lentil puffs and lentil couscous.” 

Ifeh also described how the Food Product Development Lab goes beyond Montana, working with Nigerian cacao farmers and farmers in Senegal. According to her, this is the work that she is most passionate about. “They know what they want to do, they just need the science to implement it,”  Ifeh said.

“We learn by doing — to transform communities,” Seifert said. 

To learn more about the College of EHHD, visit https://www.montana.edu/ehhd/.