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Evans Awarded American Degree

Haley Evans
junior
agriscience education

 

Haley Evans, a junior studying agriscience education was awarded her American FFA Degree at the 91st National FFA Convention. Here is what she had to say:

 

“Receiving my American Degree means closing a 6 year chapter of my life. Throughout these 6 years I had many SAE projects including market goats, dairy beef feeder calfs, and multiple job placements. I also gained leadership experiences, life long friendships, participated in many CDE’s, and made many memories that I am thankful for. What I am most thankful for throughout my time in FFA is that it lead me to choose my career path as a future Agricultural Educator.”

Evans with her American Degree.

Buchenroth Awarded American Degree

Kolt Buchenroth
sophomore
agricultural communication

Thanks to the support of my family, friends, Kenton City Schools, Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, my advisor Mrs. Shalie Logan, and great members of the Hardin County community, I am extremely thankful to have received my American FFA Degree at the 91st National FFA Convention & Expo. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in Agricultural Education courses in high school, and become a member of the FFA. The organization has not only opened a number of doors for me, but has also provided me with skills and knowledge that can’t be learned anywhere else.

Kolt (pictured with American Degree) and his family.

Kaitlyn Evans awarded American Degree

Kaitlyn Evans
junior
agriscience education

Evans received her American Degree at the 91st National FFA Convention.

My FFA Experience was with the Shelby FFA. Throughout FFA, I was involved as the chapter Treasurer for the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school year, and I attended Ohio Leadership Camp for three years. I participated in multiple Career Development Events including parliamentary procedure, nature interpretation, soil judging, and more.  I had multiple Supervised Agricultural Experience projects in the areas of animal systems, communications, and food processing systems.

Receiving my American Degree means that everything I have done in FFA for the last six years has been recognized. My American Degree means that I have worked hard over the last six years and am in the top 1% of all FFA members. It especially means a lot to me as an Agriscience Education major that wants to teach high school agriculture one day. Receiving my degree ended my FFA membership with the highest honor and started a new chapter in my life as an alumni. I am excited to begin this new journey and be a role model for future FFA members to achieve their American Degree.

Eggleton awarded American Degree

Makayla Eggleton
sophomore
agriscience education

Eggleton with her advisor.

Our days are numbered- to conquer our fears, make an impact, and influence others in our blue corduroy jackets . 4 years in the classroom; 1,460 days that we as FFA members get to zip up our corduroy jackets, to break the boundaries of our comfort zones, and to better ourselves as leaders. As I reflect on my time in the Miami Trace FFA Chapter, I recognize all the opportunities I was given and I realized all the opportunities I did not take advantage of. I recognize my participation in several CDEs- 2 at a national level, the lives impacted through community service and interaction, and my leadership positions of community development officer and president. I realize the classes, CDEs, and opportunities I missed out on to diversify myself because of fear of failure.

Zipping up the jacket one last time embodied the achievements won by the present and past generations of agriculturists. The unity and tradition instilled within the organization and agriculture are not finalized. I now get to serve those — community members, progressive agriculturists, supporters, family members, friends, and agricultural educators— who made my involvement in FFA worthwhile. Additionally, I get to serve the next generations of agriculturists as they embark on their journey within the FFA in their jackets. As a preservice agricultural educator, I already find the joys and reward in aiding members in finding their passions. It takes just one — individual, community service activity, conference, convention, career development event, action, voice, etc. — to make an impact. Be the one.

Eggleton with other recipients.

Intern Spotlight: Naus Interns with Ohio Corn & Wheat

Julia Naus
junior
agriscience education

Greetings all! My name is Julia Naus, and I was the 2017-2018 Education and Outreach Intern for Ohio Corn & Wheat. I grew up in Hardin County located in northwest Ohio. My passion for Agricultural Education and FFA inspired me to major in AgriScience Education at The Ohio State University. Because of my passion, I excitingly took advantage of the Education & Outreach Internship opportunity within Ohio Corn & Wheat. Being a New Crop Student Member and receiving the 2017 OCW Scholarship, had driven me to become more involved within the association.

President Drake and Julia at a water quality event

 Ohio Corn & Wheat is a strategic alliance made up of three different organizations to maximize resources. Those three organizations being: Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association, Ohio Corn Checkoff, and Ohio Small Grains Checkoff. Focuses of the strategic alliance include: farm bill, ethanol, energy, trade policy, environmental stewardship, transportation, risk management, livestock, research, marketing, industrial demand, education, consumer outreach, and membership.

My Education and Outreach was a wonderful experience that will always be appreciated and valued. From new experiences and knowledge to personal growth, I learned to love the agricultural industry even more than I already had. Some of my projects included overseeing our Collegiate Policy Academy, recruiting high school and collegiate members, organizing our plans for the 89thOhio FFA Convention, and assisting with activities at State Fair and Farm Science Review. Aside from my projects, I enjoyed speaking with members of Congress while advocating for the Farm Bill, ethanol, and trade. Being apart of a company that invests millions of dollars in research and thousands in education has brought insight on just how important the two are for the advancement of our communities and industry. In addition, I worked with Education Projects at teaching workshops and taught agricultural lessons to youth. One of my favorite highlights from the past 10 months was hosting a trade team from Thailand. Although my internship has ended, I continue to advocate for Ohio Corn & Wheat and all that they do for Ohio’s agricultural industry.

Happy Harvest and Go Bucks!

Naus’s district’s representative, Bob Latta. Nuas was honored to hold a conversation with both him and Senator Sherrod Brown at a dinner reception in Washington, D.C.

Schaffter awarded American Degree

Paige Schaffter
sophomore
agriscience education

Schaffter with her American Degree

Simply put, my FFA experience has been incredible. The people I’ve met, the skills I have gained, and the fun that I’ve had are unlike any that another organization can provide students with. I had so much fun and wonderful experiences in FFA that I am a little sad to finally hang up my jacket, but I am excited to see what opportunities the FFA Alumni Association can provide me with, and what I can do for current members as an alum. Earning my American Degree really proves to me that I can accomplish anything that I set my mind to, and it is a huge honor to be proud of considering only 1% of FFA members receive the degree. It also makes me proud to be an Ohioan because we had the second most recipients compared to all other states. Additionally, the recipients of American Degrees at the 91st National Convention set a record for the most degrees awarded, so that is another thing to be proud of!

Schaffter with her family

Schaffter with her advisor

 

Schaffter with other American Degree Recipients

Intern Spotlight: Stollar interns Dairy Farmers of America

Marlee Stollar
junior
agricultural communication

Over the summer, I worked for Dairy Farmers of America at the Mideast Area office in Medina, Ohio. My position was the communication intern, which entailed assisting the communication associate with a variety of projects. Throughout the internship, I learned a great deal about writing, designing and working with others.

A major part of my internship was re-branding the member guide, the leadership directory, the employee manual and the hauler manual. I also assisted in the creation of a gold standard binder to give to members and a glossary of dairy industry terms for new employees. I completed other projects as well, such as a post card to be sent to members to encourage them to visit Farm Science Review. I really enjoyed becoming more experienced with Adobe InDesign through these projects.

I also had the opportunity to help plan a variety of office events for June Dairy Month. I helped to create flyers and signs for these events. I especially enjoyed World Milk Day, which is pictured. I also had the opportunity to create signs and a banner for the Mideast Area Leadership Conference, and attend that conference as well. There I helped with aspects of the event, such as registering members and employees for the conference. These experiences helped me to build my skills within event planning.

Writing and editing was also a skill I developed through my internship. I wrote an article for our newsletter and edited the newsletters as necessary. I also wrote for many of the projects I designed throughout my internship.

This summer I had a great experience with Dairy Farmers of America. The people were one of the favorite parts of my internship, along with the skills I expanded. I was thrilled to learn more about the dairy industry and to gain more skills as an agricultural communicator.

Marlee Stollar, agricultural communication

Stollar (right) with her co-works on World Milk Day

Stollar (Right) with other interns on their last day of work

Intern Spotlight: Bauer interns with American Angus Association

Madeline Bauer
senior
agricultural communication

My name is Madeline Bauer and I am a 4th year studying agricultural communication with a minor in production agriculture. This summer I had the opportunity to work for the American Angus Association as an events and education intern.

Madeline Bauer at Junior Nationals in Madison, Wisconsin

Through my internship, I traveled to Maryland, South Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Montana. In the meantime, I lived in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Each trip was dedicated to something different. When I traveled to Maryland and back to Ohio the purpose was to attend regional Angus shows. My duties there was to keep an official book of all the placings and champions from each show. I also calculated the points to find the winners of the Herdsman and Premier Exhibitor.
I traveled to Charleston, South Carolina to attend the June Board meeting for the American Angus Association. This was one of my favorite trips as I got to act as a tour guide for all the spouses and children of the board members and employees. So while they sat in meetings all day I got to explore Charleston with the spouses and children. I took headcount on all the busses and was there to give updates on the plan for the day and ask any questions they might have and I executed the plan that was already in place every day.
Probably the biggest event of my summer was the National Junior Angus Show held in Madison, Wisconsin. I prepared all summer by organizing contest boxes, wrote Quiz Bowl tests and I made the entire Skill-A-Thon contest from scratch. At this show we had over 1,200 head of cattle come to Madison. I was in Wisconsin from July 2nd – 15th. There were numerous things I did in those two weeks but the main thing I did was facilitate the almost 20 contests that we have outside of the show ring. My job was to make sure the contest rooms were set-up, I prepared my judges on how to use the scoresheets and the rules of the contest. I had to know the rules of each contest like the back of my hand because I was the contact person for parents, exhibitors, and judges who may have questions about the contests.
Last but not least I ended the summer with a trip to Billings, Montana for the annual LEAD conference. This was a conference for junior members to attend to learn from industry professionals and view different Angus facilities. At this event, we attended a few different bull testing facilities and ranches. I had never been this far west and I can say that Montana is truly breathtaking. I see why they call it the Big Sky state!
Overall, I truly loved my experience at the American Angus Association and can say that my time there made me a better professional and prepared me for my future career in so many ways.

Bauer (left) at Junior Nationals with other interns

Bauer (left) with another intern

Intern Spotlight: Lininger interns with OSU Extension, Marion County

Joanna Lininger
senior
agricultural communication

This summer, my final internship was with OSU Extension Marion County. My mentor was ACEL graduate, Margo Long. Prior to this internship my only knowledge of OSU Extension was its role in 4-H, but through this experience I had the chance to learn its many other functions. I started working at the Marion County Extension office on June 4, 2018 with an internship orientation at the 4-H Center on The Ohio State University campus in Columbus. After the training day, I jumped right in to working on projects and assignments from Margo. I wrote lesson plans for activities that were completed at the Cloverbud Day Camp, painted the picture frames given to the Cloverbuds and created examples of crafts to show the Cloverbuds. During my first week, I was able to attend meetings with Margo including a Marion County Senior Fair Board meeting, a camp counselor meeting and a meeting with the director of the new Children’s Museum in Marion. The next week I was able to assist in running the Cloverbud Day Camp.

My next project was designing and implementing the STEM at the Fair activities that took place during the Marion County Fair. Running a project from start to finish was a great experience. Some of the activities included making paper airplanes, making straw rockets, playing with robots, making salsa, playing with VR and making meditation bottles.  I coordinated the STEM at the Fair activities each day of the fair and assisted with any other tasks around the fair needing attention. I had so much fun getting to interact with the youth at the Marion County Fair.I got to know many amazing 4-H members, families in the community, and Junior and Senior Fair Board members throughout the week. I made a lot of memories during the fair and got the chance to learn in the process.

After the fair, there were only ten days until we left for Marion County 4-H Camp held at Camp Ohio. I had never been to Camp Ohio, so it was a whole new camp experience for me.  Working with the campers, counselors and adult staff was a real pleasure. Also, I had the privileged of putting together the end of camp video. There were a few late nights of work, but I would not have traded the experience for anything. I will forever be grateful for the opportunities that I had at the 2018 Marion County 4-H Camp.

When we returned from camp, I had the chance to help the other educators in our office as well as the SNAP-ED team. It was enlightening to see the different sides of what Extension does to help farmers as well as other community members. Working with OSU Extension Marion County was an amazing experience that I would recommend to anyone. I am thankful to have gotten to spend the summer with a dedicated mentor and meet many wonderful people throughout my internship.

 

Joanna Lininger, agricultural communication

Lininger working with youth

 

Lininger working an activity with 4-H’ers

 

 

 

Jenkins Interns With Ohio Pork Council

Hello fellow Buckeyes! My name is Mary Jenkins and I am a senior in ACEL studying Agricultural Communication with a minor in Spanish. This past summer, I had the opportunity to intern with the Ohio Pork Council (OPC) in New Albany, Ohio.

When searching for an internship last spring, I immediately went to Hire-A-Buckeye (now known as Handshake), where I had found my previous internship. The application and interview process were relatively easy and I had a great experience with both of them. Prior to this internship, I had some knowledge of the pork industry, as I  lived on a hog farm and showed market hogs for 10 years at the Champaign County Fair in Urbana, Ohio. However, there was still much to learn!

Throughout this summer, I primarily worked on communication projects, whether it be press releases, content for the quarterly publication Ohio Porkline, creating graphics, or designing a magazine insert. I loved getting to apply what I had learned in previous courses, like AGRCOMM 4310 or COMM 2221, and seeing how much of a difference there was between course work and projects for an organization. This internship made me even more confident that I had made the right decision to major in Agricultural Communication and eager to begin my career.

In addition to those responsibilities, I also spent a few days in Des Moines, Iowa, where I attended the National Pork Board intern training and the World Pork Expo. It was great to see how my work related to what was happening on a national level and to experience a global agricultural event. One of my final projects of the internship was spending time working at the 2018 Ohio State Fair, where I served as assistant manager of OPC’s food stands. My day-to-day responsibilities included training volunteers, counting money, or running supplies from one stand to another. Although not directly related to communication, there were still many transferable skills I gained from this experience, like time management, organization, and attention to detail.

All in all, my time as a communications intern with the Ohio Pork Council was a wonderful experience! I learned so much about communication and the pork industry that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to experience had it not been for this internship. If anyone is interested, I encourage them to apply next spring, or to keep their eye out for any internships that might interest them. You never know what you might gain from an experience outside of the classroom.

Mary Jenkins, agricultural communication