This week I'm overwhelmed with thankfulness for the people who pushed me to check out Iowa State... and give it a second try. Many people who knew me as a high school senior will remember the girl that thought she'd attend a small, private college far from home and be the statistic that changed her major 13 times before finally graduating in 5 and a half years. I was excited for new independence and a fresh start, but so anxious about choosing the perfect school and right major. The fear of getting it wrong was almost paralyzing.
Eventually, I checked out Iowa State, only after receiving strong "suggestions" from adult friends and others who thought it would be good to visit a bigger, public school, "just to be sure" of what I was sure I knew about my preferences. I came for my tour, picked up my folder from the visitor's center, and ventured off with my mom to find our appointments scattered across the sprawling campus on the highlighted map. As we made our way through the day, we met with faculty that had thick accents, received huge folders full of curriculum requirements, and when we got lost the students we stopped to ask couldn't even point us in the right direction. That was the last straw. I returned happy to announce I could cross at least one school off the list. I could never be a Cyclone.
Little did I know, my mentors were pretty persistent, and probably knew me better than I knew myself in some ways. After months of encouragement, I went back to give it a second shot. A friend from high school was kind enough to host me in her dorm and show me around campus. Another family friend took the time to line up classes for me to sit in on and students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to meet. The light switch flipped. I knew Ames would be my new home and the Agricultural Business program seemed to fit like a glove.
Now 5 and a half semesters, 10 clubs, 4 internships, and countless trips and events in to my Iowa State adventure, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've been blessed with so many forever friends, discovered my passion in agriculture, and been challenged like never before as a Cyclone. Campus really isn't that huge, the faculty is amazing, and the coursework is exciting. In the last month alone, I've had the privilege of traveling to 4 states, 3 conferences, and attending 5 dinners representing one of the top agricultural schools in the world. Many thanks to my mentors and friends who have encouraged and supported my college career! Thanks for reading!
After walking around campus in 5 layers, and looking more like a 8 year old headed to play in the snow than a college student headed to class this week, I decided today's #ThankfulThursday should be dedicated to the four seasons!
Growing up in Iowa, I've had the privilege of experiencing all four seasons from a young age. These cold, snowy winters aren't all bad as they bring back great memories of sledding with the neighborhood kids, carefully constructing ramps and doggy-piling on the biggest toboggan we could find. The much anticipated snow days full of snowball fights, fort building and hot chocolate, are something kids in other parts of the country don't get. In college, winter means giant snowballs and igloos on central campus, and thankfulness for CyRide.
And although sometimes it seems like it never comes fast enough, once spring arrives, it always amazes me how quickly the grass greens up, trees begin to bud, and jackets are left behind. Games of catch and evening walks suddenly are much more appealing, and days get longer. On campus, people start eating lunch outside and playing frisbee on central campus between classes.
Before you know it, spring turns to full blown summer full of camps, trips, baseball games, fireworks, cook outs, and NO SCHOOL! Now that I'm in college, my summers have been filled with hands on learning experiences in the form of internships and travel. Some of my personal favorite summer memories are catching a few rays at my brother's baseball games, fair time, a high school trip to Spain, and last year's Iowa Corn Indy 300 race weekend! This summer I look forward to interning in the Marketing Communications department with Beck's Hybrids in Atlanta, Indiana.
Somehow, every August I'm ready to head back to school eagerly look forward to cooler nights filled with football games and bonfires. Getting into a new routine, meeting new teachers, and making new memories are always exciting parts of this time of year. Personally, I just love sweatshirt weather and taking pictures of the beautiful autumn leaves. Harvest time and seeing all the productivity of the ag industry this time of year especially, always makes me proud. At Iowa State, fall brings events like Ag Business Fall Industry Tour, CALS Week, and lots of tailgating.
This year, I'm going to try to be thankful for the season we're in and appreciate the fun things that come around each time of year... even as I waddle to class in all my snow gear! Join me! Thanks for reading!
This week, it really hit me how thankful I am for transportation. It seems like I've been on the road, or in the air, constantly and getting from place to place is something I take for granted way too often.
Recently, club activities took me to Atlanta, Georgia (read about that trip here) which required driving, flying, and taking the local public transportation, MARTA. Everything went smoothly without delay, and at the time I didn't even think twice about it! How lucky are we that we can travel to the opposite side of the country without breaking the bank or being seriously concerned about personal safety!
Just this morning, I drove down to Des Moines and back, took the CyRide to class, and walked across the beautiful Iowa State campus. My car started just fine, and along with thousands of others around the metro I made my commute without a single hiccup. When I returned, and needed to go to class, a big red CyRide was right outside my house within a matter of minutes to drop me off where ever I wanted to go on campus.
These are just two instances where I need to be especially grateful for the means to get around and the freedom to do so. As I buzz from place to place this year, I'm going to try to be more mindful of all that goes on behind the scenes to get me from point A to B. Join me! Thanks for reading!
Hello again! I've taken a little break from blogging to prepare everything for the holidays, wrap up the academic semester, and begin a new job. In all I'm doing I find more and more things I want to share with you all, and want to take some time to catch up today!
First off, I've started another job! I joined the dataTHRESH team last month as the Marketing Communications Manager and have been learning tons about all the data tools available to farmers as they make decisions, like seed selection, for their farm. Within the first week on the job, my teammates and I hosted a tailgate event at Jack Trice to get to know farmers and Cyclone fans over hot cocoa and warm Hickory Park chili. I was so busy this fall, I didn't attend many football games, so tailgating and hanging out with new friends was a welcomed change of pace. For the rest of the school year, I will be traveling to trade shows and working behind the scenes to help the farmers that use our products.
In other exciting news, I officially accepted a Marketing Communications internship with Beck's Hybrids in Atlanta, Indiana for this summer. If you regularly follow my blog, you know I'm slightly obsessed with their #WhyIFarm videos and I can't wait to be a contributing member of their team. Over Christmas break, I plan to travel to the company headquarters to meet the rest of the department in person, and I'm really looking forward to the trip.
It feels like I've been spending a lot of time off campus with career related adventures, but on campus organizations have been keeping me busy too. In the last month, I have been elected to a couple officer positions and really look forward to growing the organizations that have made such a huge impact in my professional development. Keep your eyes open for posts about ISU Student Federation for Agriculture and the ISU Iowa Corn Growers Association.
Even with all that's been going on, the opportunity for a blog post is always at the back of my mind. This holiday season has caused me to take time and reflect. Over Thanksgiving Break I wrote at least a half dozen thankfulness posts, but each got extremely lengthy and didn't even begin to cover all I was feeling. Finally, I decided to scrap all my drafts and start a #ThankfulThursday series. For the next year, I look forward to taking time to meditate on something I'm thankful for each Thursday.
Finals are this coming week, and I will certainly be thankful when they are over. I'm excited to start this next series in my blogging journey! Thanks for reading!
