Jesse Barger is gaining valuable organizational and speaking skills by giving tours of Mackay High School’s state-of-the art fish lab.
Impressive considering Jesse is just 14 and in the eighth grade.
Recently, he and classmate Lucas Hulse gave Idaho Gov. Brad Little a tour of the lab. Before that, they gave a tour to Idaho state legislator Geoff Schroeder of Kamiah. Jesse and Lucas are FFA chapter members at the school.
“We like to be in the lab and we know how it all works so that’s why we were picked to show the governor,” Jesse said. “We like to come into the lab on weekends and work on things.”
The 1,400-square-foot lab has a customized, award-winning aeration system and 23 tanks, which when fully operational can raise 20,000 fish to be released in Idaho rivers and lakes. Since 2014, Trent Van Leuven has been the Agri-science teacher and FFA adviser at the school, he’s made continual strides to the school’s aquaculture program that’s been in place for 30 years now.
Jesse calms his nerves when talking to people like Little and Schroeder by just concentrating on explaining how the lab works, he said.
“I’ve given tours before so I just kind of gave a tour (to Gov. Little) like I usually give them,” he said. “I just explain how it all works and about the fish we raise, where we get the water, how the water circulates through the tanks, and where we release the fish.”
This is Jesse’s first year in FFA and his first year taking ag classes. The fish lab will be the subject of his very first Supervised Agriculture Experience project.
“I think I would like a career in it,” he said.
In addition to ag classes, Jesse’s other favorite class is Spanish. In his spare time he likes playing sports outside.
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