Opinion:
AFA Leaders Conference: Great opportunity to connect in unexpected ways

by Booklyn Shearer, posted Dec. 21, 2009

As I prepared for the 2009 Agriculture Futures of America conference in November, my Mom told me there was a "guy I had to meet."  My parents took a cruise last October and met another couple whose son was my age and interested in agriculture.  It turns out we were both planning to attend the AFA conference in Kansas City. I thought my Mom was just trying to set up me up with him, and I imagined the chances of meeting him were slim to none. But, sure enough, I met Blake Laethem from Caro, Mich.

That is main reason I enjoy the AFA conference — the opportunity to meet and learn more about students from all across the U.S.

“I attended AFA for a number of reasons,” said Laethem, a sophomore majoring in agribusiness management at Michigan State University. “I knew that I would walk away with a number of friends from different universities across the nation, and I also knew I would walk away with a broadened professional skill set.”

AFA also allows college students to network with individuals from the industry over lunch, dinner and at an opportunity fair. There are three tracks at the AFA conference: one designed for freshman, another designed for sophomores and juniors, and a final track for seniors.

During my four days at AFA, I listened to 13 different speakers on a broad range of topics from ethics to body language. My favorites included, “Money Talks,” which was a discussion on how to manage money by Adam Carroll, “Dressing for Success and Professional Impressions” by Sara Rogers and “Actions Speak Louder than Words” by Jan Hargrave. What made these topics appealing to me was that they could be used immediately after the conference. I don’t squander my money as much as I have in the past, and when I shop I look for things that are versatile and can be layered.

All AFA attendees look forward to the opportunity fair, which is full of companies offering summer internships and full-time job positions. Naturally, most of the companies at the opportunity fair are agricultural and relate to the food industry. For agronomy students it is like a shopping mall, because there are a lot of seed-based companies that deal with plant science.

This year I spoke with Syngenta, Cargill, Helena Chemical Company and John Deere. At first this experience can be a little scary and nerve-racking, but after I talked to one company representative, I was ready to talk to more. This is kind of skill is not learned in the classroom, but rather by first-hand experience. It will be beneficial to me in every aspect of my life.

Charlotte Jackson, a senior agricultural education major from New Cambria, Mo., was part of the AFA Student Advisory Team this year. She helped facilitate different sessions throughout the conference.

“The AFA Leaders Conference is different from any other college conference one might attend. It is a ‘Leaders Conference,’ meaning that all students there are chosen as the elite of colleges across the United States,” Jackson said.

I agree with Jackson, and think being a part of the elite group of college leaders means that each person has to take advantage of the experiences that come their way. I have learned it’s not necessarily about being president of every organization that you’re associated with or being a part of ten different organizations, but being passionate about what you do. 

I had been to track one and now, track two. I recognized some faces I saw last year and saw a lot of new ones. I definitely plan on attending track three next year, because AFA is a great place to network and meet college students who may one day be my co-workers.

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