CFAES Ambassador Team Takes Retreat

By: Mindi Brookhart, Agricultural Communication| Waynesfield, OH

What comes to mind when you think of going on a weekend retreat? If you imagine taking a break from your busy schedule, getting out of town, and enjoying good food and great company, then we have something in common! The Ambassador Team from the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences spent our first weekend back at The Ohio State University doing just that.

Hey there, my name is Mindi Brookhart and I am a third year student at OSU. As an Agricultural Communication major, I was welcomed onto the CFAES Ambassador team in the spring of 2016 and recently earned the privilege of experiencing my first Ambassador Retreat.

After the first week of classes, 31 students from CFAES gathered in the Agricultural Administration building and began a training seminar. It was equipped to better educate our group and make us aware of unique situations we could encounter such as leading tours on campus to prospective students or working at recruiting events. Once that concluded, we headed to Woodhaven Farms in Johnstown and spent our evening escaping the city. We worked in groups to prepare supper and spend genuine time getting to know fellow team members and relaxing by the pond.

Saturday morning, we dove right into our busy day and engaged in an Open Doors training. Its purpose was to educate and make us think about diversity and how we approach it each day. This event was led by Pamela Thomas.  Our afternoon was spent expanding our knowledge about our college by working with Amy Jo Baughman and Jill Arnett, our advisors.

On Sunday morning, we concluded our retreat with strong peer discussion while eating brunch. The final stop of the weekend was at Price Farms Organics.

I take pride in representing the college as well as The Ohio State University by serving as a CFAES Ambassador. Though it is a competitive process to join the team, it is a very rewarding experience. We polish our professional skills and have the opportunity to represent our student body when meeting large contributors to our school as well as industry professionals.

If you love being a Buckeye and staying involved with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, the ambassador team may be a great fit for you!