First-Year Students Gain Leadership and Career Insights at AFA Leaders Conference
Seven freshmen from the Department of Agricultural Economics were selected to attend the Agriculture Future of America (AFA) Leaders Conference in Kansas City this past November! As first-year students, they completed Track 1 of the 3 ½ day conference, which is structured to develop students in time management and goal setting and provide opportunities to explore various ag career paths.
After being encouraged by instructors in class, upperclassmen friends, and numerous e-mails, the students applied and were selected to receive one of the $1250 sponsorships by industry partners. This year, our freshmen were sponsored by ADM, Cargill, CHS Foundation and Syngenta. The other 67 Boilermakers who attended the 850-student conference had sponsorships from an array of corporate sponsors.
Alexa Anglemyer (Elkhart, IN) shared, “Attending the AFA leadership conference will better prepare me for navigating my next years of college and give me confidence that I have a place in the agriculture industry.” Eli French (Attica, IN) added, “My favorite part of attending was meeting all kinds of people that have a common passion for agriculture and plan to solve crucial challenges pertaining to the future of agriculture!”
Izzie Koenig (Botkins, OH) stated the following about her AFA experience, “Not only do I have new friends and mentors who I can reach out to for the rest of my academic and professional career, but I have also learned a lot about professional development. I will implement those changes to obtain additional leadership experiences at Purdue.”
Kelby Roberts (Falmouth, IN) summarized, “This experience left me feeling refreshed and equipped to lead and serve here on Purdue campus while also giving me an immense amount of joy and personal growth! It was definitely a cup-filling experience!” Emma Smith (Mount Gilead, OH) commented, “This experience has opened my eyes to the countless opportunities the field of agriculture has to offer. I learned valuable tips from industry professionals that I can take with me throughout my college career and into the workplace.”
The students highlighted the following as some of their favorite sessions: “Cultivation Compassion, Unlocking Confidence” with Coach Kiah; “Finding Alignment in an Unbalanced World” with Whitney Kinne; “Unleashing the Most Positive You” with Susie Thompson; “Can You Repeat That? I Wasn’t Listening” with Cheryl Mitchel; and the opening session with Diana Kander. Highlighted activities included the Career Roundtables, Opportunity Fair, and the Bridge Builder Dinner. They are all hoping to have the opportunity to attend Track 2 at next year’s AFA Leaders Conference!