Leading the Future of MANNRS with Passion and Purpose
Drew Parker (Junior, Agribusiness; Noblesville, IN) has been serving as the 2024-25 MANNRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences) National Undergraduate President since Summer 2024. After completing an intense application, gathering several letters of recommendation and creating a video of intent, he was invited to participate in the interview process. Once the interview process was completed, his peers selected him as the next President after his speech at the national conference last year!
He began his time with MANNRS as a Purdue college freshman, when he was introduced to the organization through Purdue’s Emerging Leaders Program.
He shared, “Once I learned about the professional development, scholarship and leadership opportunities, I was hooked.” Drew’s leadership with MANNRS began when he was elected as the Region V Undergraduate Student Vice-President at the end of his freshman year.
Although Drew didn’t serve as an officer in the Purdue MANNRS organization, he has been extremely involved with the Purdue chapter. Some of his favorite memories include studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, attending a MANNRS day at John Deere’s Headquarters, and attending Regional Clusters and National Conferences.
With mentorship and uplifting of others as two of MANNRS’ cornerstones, Drew mentioned that he has been lucky to have pivotal mentors in his life. One of those mentors being Purdue MANNRS Chapter Advisor Zachary Brown, who was a former MANNRS National Secretary.
Drew stated, “He saw the leader in me that I did not see in myself and pushed me to apply for the position. His mentorship has positively influenced my life tenfold.”
In this role, Drew has been able to meet some interesting people, including the former Secretary of Agriculture. He explained this interaction: “I met the former Secretary of Agriculture at our MANRRS 38th National Conference in Chicago, Illinois. The National Officer team had the opportunity to sit down with him and pick his brain about current issues in agriculture. This opportunity was amazing as I was able to hear the opinion of a top agriculture figure on everything from foreign-owned land to the consolidation of meatpacking plants.”
Drew described the joy he has received serving in this capacity, “What I’ve enjoyed most in this leadership role is all the people I’ve met and the unique stories I’ve been able to hear. Learning about someone’s passion is always enjoyable. MANRRS is a growth chamber for passion, so being able to meet and speak with people from our Junior MANRRS all the way to our founding members is special. The commonality is the passion for agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences.”