As an agriculture and food business economics major, Stephanie George enjoys exploring the inner workings of farming and commerce.
But even she sometimes finds the intricacies of agricultural cost-benefit analysis a little dry.
Thankfully, George’s involvement in Agriculture Future of America (AFA) lets her find real-world relevance in her studies—and put them to work for her future career. She wants other students to do that, too.
As Campus Ambassador for AFA at Washington State University, George encourages fellow students to apply now for sponsorships to the AFA Leaders Conference that helps them become the agriculture industry’s next generation of leaders.
If selected for sponsorship for the AFA Leaders Conference, Nov. 5 to 8 in Kansas City, Mo., students will take part in leader training workshops and network face-to-face with approximately 300 industry professionals and 700 other passionate students from all across the nation.
“Every student that has taken part has come back feeling empowered,” George said. “They meet students and leaders from across the country who are pumped and passionate about agriculture.”
At the Leaders Conference, students progress through four different skill tracks aimed at freshmen, sophomores, junior-seniors and returning seniors. This fall, three seniors from the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS) will take part in the returning senior capstone track aimed at their transition to careers, impacts on global agriculture and lifelong learning. Those students are Lauren Celmer, a food science major; Devon Griffith, a viticulture and enology major; and Madison Moore, an agricultural economics major. CAHNRS will provide these students with a travel scholarship to support their AFA training and congratulate them for being selected out of a very competitive pool of applicants.
“We don’t realize our full potential if we limit ourselves to just classroom experience,” George added. “Traveling, meeting students from across the country and learning about opportunities at national companies was really empowering. It completely opened my mind to the possibilities.”
Deadline coming soon
The deadline for sponsorship applications for the 2015 AFA Leaders Conference is Friday, Sept. 11. The application involves a few short essay questions. Applicants should be agricultural science majors or have a career focus on the agricultural industry. New and returning students are encouraged to apply. If selected to attend, CAHNRS will offer each student a travel scholarship.
To apply, visit http://www.agfuture.org/2015conference.
• Learn more about Academic Programs at the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences here.