From Marine Corps to classroom: A veteran's agricultural journey
By Cailyn Kennedy
After dedicating an impressive 26 years of service in the US Marine Corps, mostly in Aviation, James Davenport has decided to hang up his uniform and pursue a career in agriculture at Lenoir Community College.
During his time in the US Marine Corps, Davenport was a structural hydraulic mechanic. After Master Sergeant Davenport retired, he began working with Boeing Aerospace where he worked on a training team designated to further train Aviation Marines on military aircraft systems and subsystems, where he focused on the structural and hydraulic systems. While being on this team Davenport found that he had a passion for teaching.
“I enjoyed my time with the military and with Boeing, but it was time for a change,” says Davenport. Thus began his journey in search of an educational opportunity. After spending time researching different community colleges, he landed at LCC, where he is now a sophomore on his way to completing both Sustainable Agriculture and Agriculture Education Degrees.
“I hope to become an agriculture teacher when I complete my education. I don’t know what level I hope to teach at, but it is something I have enjoyed since my time working with Boeing. Seeing schools in surrounding areas building their agriculture programs is exciting, and I hope to be a part of that.”
When asked where his passion for agriculture began, Davenport simply stated, "I grew up on a small farm and enjoyed being outside and working outside. We always had a small garden at our house and tending to that was something I always looked forward to."
“My favorite part of going to school has been the change of pace,” he said. “I have enjoyed the experience of meeting new people and learning new things every day. The hands-on experiences I have had the opportunity to participate in since being in this program make it exciting to come into class.”
According to Davenport, another one of his favorite parts of this program is being able to see his classmates grow and learn alongside him. “Some of the students come in and have never driven a tractor or even a lawnmower, so seeing them have these experiences and learn new things is amazing.”
“The most rewarding part of this process is easily the fact that you get to reap the rewards of your hard work. Whether that is the plants you grow or the animals you work with, they rely on you to keep them healthy and growing.
A piece of advice Davenport would give to someone interested in getting into the agriculture field is, “You have to enjoy working. It is not easy work, but the best part about this profession is that you are in it because you enjoy it. You get to take care of the things you work on, and as I said earlier, you get to reap the rewards of that hard work. You have to have the passion and responsibility to get up day in and day out to be there for the plants and animals that rely on you.”
For more information on the Sustainable Agriculture or Agriculture Education Programs, please contact Tiffany Kennedy at (252) 527-6223, ext. 786 or email tckennedy68@lenoircc.edu.
Neuse News is a locally-owned small business startup in downtown Kinston. Our goal is to provide free, hyper-local news to Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties. The kind of news our grandparents read in a format fit for today's times.
We provide this by having supportive advertisers and we encourage you to click on their ads, shop with them, and eat with them. Every bit of financial support is important to help us sustain free, hyper-local news.
Please consider supporting Neuse News with as little as $5 one-time or via a monthly option. Every little bit helps us, help you.
