Tilling his way forward

Brian James “B.J.” Ardoin, Jr. has just made history for Evangeline Parish. He is the first Evangeline Parish native to be admitted to the USDA/1890 National Scholars Program. The program aims to increase the number of students studying agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, and other agriculture-related disciplines.
“B.J.” is a junior in the fall at Southern University A&M. He has his sights set on Washington D.C., but his roots are in rural Louisiana with a long history of farming. “I’ve always been a part of agriculture my whole life. My family has a lot of land, and we were part of it for a long time. I’ve always wanted to be part of the business side, though.” Ardoin was in 4-H when he was younger and was in Agro-Youth in St. Landry Parish, which was designed to introduce urban kids to agriculture.”
Ardoin is a graduate of Pine Prairie High, which is his father’s alma mater, and Vidrine Elementary, which is where his mother went to school. He continues with the legacy of farming on both sides of the family. His great-great grandfather on his mother’s side was Ashton Deculus, Sr. from Mamou, who, according to Ardoin, Sr., “was one of the largest black farmers in Evangeline Parish. He was a well-respected man who farmed cotton, soybean, and wheat and was well-known throughout the parish.” Deculus’ son, Katrina’s great uncle, Louis George Joseph Deculus, farmed 4,000 acres in partnership with his father and three brothers. Their major farming enterprises included 780 acres of rice, 55 acres of cotton, 1,200 acres of soybeans, and 150 head of cattle. Ardoin, Sr.’s side of the family was also in the agriculture business, as his grandfather, Edmond Ardoin, was a sharecropper in Mamou.
Aside from his love of agriculture, “B.J.” always had a knack for numbers. ”Being in school my whole life and knowing numbers was my strong suit. When I found out the USDA has an entire service for crunching numbers, it drew me to it.” When the program is over, he will go straight into management training with the USDA.
“Whenever I graduate I hope to wind up in D.C.” There, his job will be to take the census for certain regions and see what resources need to be sent to those areas after crunching numbers, which is vital in times of crisis.
Allison Johnson, USDA National Outreach Coordinator for the East, said “Brian was an absolute fit for the agriculture statistician service, majoring in economics. Our purpose is to increase enrollment and try to recruit minority students to try to continue to study agriculture.” Johnson said traditionally, minority students do not choose to go into the agriculture field. “You don’t have to be a minority to be accepted to the program, but you have to attend an 1890 Land Grant institution, and the only one in Louisiana is Southern University.”
Johnson said Ardoin’s interest is in pursuing a career in the agriculture economic arena by coming and gaining employment with the USDA upon graduation. “That’s what we’re excited about is to be able to groom him and have him shadow USDA statisticians and then move into a managerial role, hopefully in Washington D.C. In the future, students in this program will be the leaders in D.C.”
Brian Ardoin, Sr. said he and his wife, Katrina, are “absolutely proud of him. We’re glad he found something he enjoys doing. One of your biggest concerns is your kids will go to school and change majors five or six times and graduate not having a job. This program is 100% job placement right out of college with an alternative program to go on and get his master’s degree. We didn’t know this program existed when it was introduced to him. No one else in Evangeline Parish had ever been awarded this. Hopefully we can open up doors for other kids in the parish.”
In addition to his success in being accepted into the program, Ardoin, Jr. is also in the honors college at Southern University. His father said of being in the USDA program coupled with the honors school, “It’s a lot of work and a lot of responsibility.” If his plate was not full with honors work and the USDA program, Ardoin, Jr. is also one of the Collegiate 100 which is awarded to the top 100 students at S.U. Collegiate 100 is a mentorship organization that goes around the Baton Rouge area, mentoring kids, telling them why they should go to school. The organization performs community service and civic duties.
B.J. will be doing an internship in Little Rock. After that, he will be placed in several other areas of the country, including southern California, to get training and experience. “They are trying to have him cover the four corners of the U.S.,” said Ardoin, Sr. “He’ll go to the east coast, too. I’m hopeful he’ll come home at some point with everything he learned and utilize it here.”
The USDA/1890 National Scholars Program was established in 1992 as part of the partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the nineteen 1890 Land-Grant Universities. The program provides full tuition, fees, books, room and board to students pursuing degrees in agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, or related academic disciplines. When the student has completed the academic and summer work requirements of the scholarship, USDA may convert the student to a permanent employee without further competition. Currently, USDA and 1890 Land-Grant Universities are providing scholarships to 109 students.
This program is among several USDA efforts to build the capacity of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Since the passage of the Second Morrill Act of 1890, USDA has supported scholarships, research, education, extension activities, and grants for facilities and equipment at these institutions.