Dairy Bar Daydream

“Please submit your statement of purpose.  This one- or two-page statement states your reasons for undertaking graduate work and explains your academic interests, including their relation to your undergraduate study and professional goals.”

I’m not sure I have ever faced a more daunting essay.  When I initially saw this prompt on one of my graduate school applications, I started to panic.  I started thinking I’m supposed to be able to define my purpose in order to get into graduate school? That’s a question I have struggled with for years as many people often do.

Being part of the technology generation, what do we do when we don’t know the answer to a question? We surf the web. Or in my case, I googled it! And this is what I found:

Purpose: for every action there is a purpose

Once I saw this saying, “for every action there is a purpose” I instantly felt better.  I am applying to grad schools (the action) in order to fulfill a personal goal of becoming an agricultural education teacher (purpose).  And suddenly, the essay didn’t seem so daunting anymore!  So here’s my piece of advice for the day: next time an essay topic seems too daunting, find a way to put it in perspective (even if it means finding a poster on google!)

One of the most common questions I get when I explain that I’m an agriculture education major is: “So what do you want to do with that?”  Once I’ve explained that I want to educate youth and consumers that agriculture is part of everyone’s life.  Now, there is a video that proves it!

Check it out: http://www.cbs.com/shows/the_early_show/video/2167669656/manolo-blahnik-execs-take-on-dairy-farming

You are at a conference with an attendance of 520 other collegiate students from all across the country.  As the conference comes to a close the final speaker says, “I believe in you.  You are my hope for the future of our industry and our world.”  And you think to yourself, “I’m their hope? I’m just graduating college and they want me to bring our industry into the future?” Maybe you would have a different reaction, but I just have to say that being the hope for the future is a little bit daunting and extremely intimidating!

No matter what field or industry, someone is looking to you for answers.  At the AFA Leaders Conference, it was no different!  Collegiate agriculture students from across the nation met with leaders in the agriculture industry and discussed how our industry will be able to produce twice the amount of food we are currently producing in order to feed a world population of 9 billion people in less than 40 years.  Talk about daunting!! This conference focuses on preparing collegiate students to enter the agriculture work force and directly assists students in finding internships and jobs by inviting over 150 businesses to the opportunity fair.  While attending this fair, there is a one to one ratio of businesses to collegiate students.  The opportunities to make connections are endless!

I was given this opportunity because Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences invested in me and sponsored me to attend.  I am extremely grateful for this sponsorship, especially because there is often a lack of agriculture businesses at the career fairs on our campus.  Despite drastic delays on the trip home, I cam back to campus energized and focused on sharing my experience with the hope that more students will have the chance to attend this conference in the future!  I know that I do not stand a chance of being the “hope of the future” by myself…however, I know that it is my responsibility to help other students realize their potential and their future.

If you are interested in attending the conference, feel free to check out the website at http://www.agfuture.org/s/1342/start.aspx and check back for potential industry sponsorships or feel free to contact me for more information!