The Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership (ACEL) has named 12 students to the 2023 class of ACEL Outstanding Seniors. These students were selected by the faculty and staff of the department for their excellence both in and out of the classroom. Claire Meyer, an agricultural communication major from Wilmington, Ohio, was named as one of ACEL’s Outstanding Seniors for 2023.
Read about Claire’s Ohio State experience below.
Why did you choose your major?
I chose my major because I knew I wanted to promote the stories of individuals in the agriculture industry. I grew up on a grain farm in Northwest Ohio and was always in awe of how hard my parents and grandparents worked. I wanted to have the tools to share stories like theirs to others.
Why did you choose to attend Ohio State?
Ohio State was always my dream school growing up. There really wasn’t anywhere else I really wanted to go. My dad is an alumni of the university and CFAES, so I grew up in a Scarlet and Grey household. There were many Saturday’s in the fall dedicated to buckeye football.
What classes did you enjoy the most?
The classes I have enjoyed the most have been the Publication Design and Production class with Dr. Specht, the Campaign Design class with Tom Stewart and the AgriNaturalist class. All these classes have done an amazing job preparing me for a future career in communication and shown me parts of the industry that I really enjoy.
What student organizations have you been involved in (locally and nationally) and what roles did you hold within those organizations (if applicable)? How were these organizations beneficial to your collegiate experience?
As an undergraduate I have been a member of several clubs and organizations on campus. I joined the Sigma Alpha Professional Agricultural Sorority in the Fall of my freshman year and have been an active member ever since. I have held various positions over the last couple of years. I was a Co-Chair for the Young Leaders Conference Committee in the Fall of 2020 and Spring of 2021 and in the Spring of 2021, I was elected as First Vice President for the chapter.
Additionally, I have been an active member of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow Club, where I currently serve as the treasurer, and I have been a member of the Agribusiness Club since my 1st year at Ohio State.
These organizations really gave me the opportunity to make connections within the industry and build/refine skills I might not have been able to in the classroom.
What internships did you complete and what were your responsibilities/projects as an intern? How were they impactful in figuring out your career path?
I had three internships as an undergraduate and they have each taught me something different about where I want my career path to take me.
This past summer I interned with the Wood County Fair Board as their Communications Intern. I had the opportunity to run their Facebook page all summer and during the week of the fair. I also created banners and advertisements that helped promote events around the fairgrounds. This internship was helpful because it really solidified what I wanted to do in my career and helped me make connections with industry professionals back home that I wouldn’t have before.
The summer after my junior year I interned with AgCredit, ACA as an Administrative Intern out of their Fostoria, OH office. While here I helped with various departments. I worked on market prospect data, social media content creation, and different events the association puts on throughout the summer. Through this internship I realiize I really liked working in the ag lending sector. I wasn’t really interested in the financial and loan side of things, but I really enjoyed the marketing, HR, and operations side of an ag lending firm.
The summer after my freshman year I was an Agronomy Intern with Mid-Wood Inc. in Cygnet, OH. I worked with customers by helping diagnose weed and pest issues in their fields and assisting in the creation of fertilizer and chemical application programs to address those problems.
What do you plan to do after graduation? (If you don’t have anything planned yet, THAT IS TOTALLY OK!!!!!)
I am hoping to work within the marketing and communications sector of the agriculture industry.
What stands out as your best college memory?
Honestly, my best memories in college have been made in these last couple of months as a senior. Working on the AgriNaturalist with a bunch of people I started in the FAES Learning Community freshman year with and finishing out my last semester as an Active member of Sigma Alpha have really given me a chance to reminisce on the last four years and finish out my last semester with some of my best friends.
What advice would you give to the freshman version of yourself?
The biggest piece of advice I would give the freshman version of myself is to not be afraid to try new things and get out of your comfort zone. I wish I had made more of an effort my freshman year to do just that.