Missouri
AgriBusiness Academy created tight bond among members
Holly Bellis, posted Oct. 16, 2006
CAFNR
week has concluded and students are continuously seeing new
friends they made throughout the week on campus. For some,
however, faces remain familiar from past experiences.
One past experience in particular that brings students together
is the Missouri AgriBusiness Academy. The academy is sponsored
by the Missouri Department of Agriculture and selects 30 students
statewide annually concluding their sophomore year of high
school. Students are selected by application and through an
interview process. The top 30 then attend a four day tour
of agribusinesses in a selected area of Missouri. Currently,
12 of the 30 students from the 2004 class are attending Mizzou.
Jeromie Allen, current state FFA president, is a freshman
at MU majoring in agribusiness management. Allen said he “gained
new knowledge in the agriculture field” at the 2004
academy, which helped him earn his coveted title. “Meeting
new people, gaining employment ideas and seeing new businesses,”
were also some memories that influenced Allen.
Tracy Sample currently serves as the area 15 vice president
on the Missouri state FFA officer team with Allen. Sample
is majoring in agricultural education. Sample said, “It’s
amazing how many times I have seen these people at different
events and how many are up here at MU now. It helped me in
making the transition to MU easier.”
Another member of the state FFA officer team and attendee
at MAbA is Rachel Bartholomew. Bartholomew is currently majoring
in agricultural education and serves as the state secretary.
Bartholomew said that the academy, “Opened my eyes to
the numerous possibilities of a career in agriculture. Also,
knowing that so many of my MAbA classmates are here on campus
has made the university feel much smaller and more like home.”
Besides staying busy with the FFA officer team, Bartholomew
also spends her time serving as the Missouri Junior Angus
Association secretary and past president of the Missouri Junior
Cattlemen’s Association board of directors.
Whitney Wallace went to MAbA and is attending MU this fall
an agricultural journalism major. Wallace said the, “close
bond we all have now with each other is so nice to fall back
on when we’re on campus with more than 27,000 other
students. It also helps knowing that we all have the same
background in agriculture.”
Also attending MU is John Schad. Schad currently serves as
a state representative on the Missouri 4-H council. He is
studying agricultural systems management and is very fond
of his memories from MAbA. When asked what he thought was
significant about the academy, Schad stated, “MAbA is
a great academy which gears young adults towards the future
of agriculture.”
Other students that went to MAbA that are attending MU this
fall are Suzanne Voelker, Julia Shuck, Alan Brandt, Kristen
Wright, Mindy Briscoe and Nathan Scheiderer. Applications
for the 2007 Missouri AgriBusiness Academy will be available
online after the first of the year.
