The life of one MU agricultural journalism adviser

Rachele Kloppe, Corner Post staff

Nov. 11, 2002 - As an agricultural journalism major, my adviser is Sharon Wood-Turley, who was not an ag j major but is a part of the agriculture program here at Mizzou and makes a fine adviser.

Wood-Turley went to junior high and high school in her hometown of Stanberry, Mo., where her father was at one time the elementary school principal. Wood-Turley grew up around family, with her grandparents, aunts and uncles nearby.

At that time, her parents, Clayton and Opal Wood, owned a 500-acre farm in northwest Missouri.

"I grew up on a farm, but yet I don't have quite the same hands-on ag background as a lot of other ag students do," Wood-Turley said.

She said this is because the chores were divided according to gender on the farm where she was raised. This, however, allowed Wood-Turley to develop her love for cooking.

She said she finds that cooking is "another way to express creativity." Her other interests outside the office include playing the piano and reading. She loves novelists like Barbara Kingsolver and Margaret Atwood. Wood-Turley said she even aspires to write her own novel one day.

Wood-Turley met her husband, Wayne, during her freshman year at Mizzou.

"It was a little goofy story," she said.

They actually met in Ellis Library, where Wayne passed her a note asking her to get a Coke with him. The rest is history. They wed while she was a sophomore in college - much to the consternation of her parents. However, their marriage has been going strong for 23 years. They now have two children - Whitney, 16, and Nathan, 14.

Wood-Turley received a bachelor's degree in Home Economics Journalism at MU in 1983 and finished her master's in Journalism a few years ago.

"I tried different things, but I just always got pulled back to the J-School because I think I like the practical nature of that work," Wood-Turley said. "I feel like I am doing something that has a useful purpose to it."

After graduation, Wood-Turley was hired at the Meredith Corporation, which produces magazines, such as Better Homes and Gardens. Later, at the same time she was offered a permanent position there, she was also offered a position at MU. She chose Mizzou in order to be close to home and her family.

She said she loves her job because the focus of it changes every three to four years, and it allows her to do production work as well as teach.

When asked what she likes most about her job, Wood-Turley said she enjoys the students and the opportunity to do many different things, from publication design to web design to writing, editing and teaching.

"It always amazes me how wonderful the ag j students are," she said. "We really do get the best kids in this program and the college in general."

Wood-Turley said there is flexibility for students majoring in ag journalism.

"[There is] a lot of flexibility in it so you can get a good background in several different areas, and the day you graduate, you don't have to know what you want to be for the rest of your life," she said. "It gives you just a good place to jump off from because I don't think you really know until you get out into the real world [what you want to be]. Very few people know exactly what they want to do when they leave college."

She also said she would advise students to "just be open to different opportunities and not feel like they have to be locked in to one specific path."

In order to prepare properly for an agricultural journalism way of life, Wood-Turley said to know about writing, even if you don't want it to be your main focus. She said that almost every ag j major will encounter writing in some way, so they should be ready to understand writers and know how they work. Her best tip was to have good writing skills in order to be well-prepared.

To be an overall successful student, Wood-Turley advised attending class faithfully.

"There's always something in every class session that you're going to need to know," she said. She also said to build a relationship with your instructors and be careful not to get over-involved in extracurricular activities.

Profile originally posted 12/03/02


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