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Department of Communications and Agricultural Education

Tag: Student Awards

Wakefield named Student of the Month

by Rachel Waggie, agricultural education and communication master’s student

Agricultural Communications and Journalism senior Allison Wakefield was honored as the K-State College of Agriculture’s December 2019 Student of the Month.

“My experiences within the College of Ag have been nothing short of remarkable and memorable. The relationships I’ve made and skills I have learned from everyone are irreplaceable.”
– Allison Wakefield

 

 

 

 

 

 

This honor is awarded to one College of Agriculture student per month in the academic year. With 10 departments and over 2,500 students in the College of Ag, being selected as a Student of the Month is no small feat. Congratulations, Allison.

Many wins for students at Ag Media Summit

by Katie Burke, assistant professor in agricultural communications and journalism

Eight students from the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) Kansas State chapter attended the Ag Media Summit in Minneapolis this July. In addition to gaining knowledge from conference sessions, students received numerous awards and recognitions from National ACT. The club won Chapter of the Year for the third year in a row, Janae McKinney (senior in agricultural communications and journalism) was one of the AAEA scholarship winners, and Katherine Wist (senior in agricultural communications and journalism) was elected to the National ACT Officer Team. The K-State club also came back with several Critique and Contest awards: the Kansas State Agriculturist magazine (Fall 2018 issue) won first place in the Publication Division; Katherine Wist won first place in the Infographic Division and placed in three additional divisions; and Mary Marsh (senior in agricultural communications and journalism) won first place in the Short Feature Writing Division. “Kansas State ACT was awarded NACT Chapter of the Year … for their excellence in leadership, education, community service, social activities, and fundraising,” says the NACT Facebook page.

Congratulations to the K-State Livestock Judging Team

Agricultural communications and journalism student, Kaci Foraker, was part of the history-making K-State livestock judging team. For the first time in the long history of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the K-State Livestock Judging Team has been honored as the champion team overall in the intercollegiate judging contest. The team was first named champions in the beef, swine and oral reasons divisions. The final contest of the spring, the event draws to a close a spectacular first half of the season with much to look forward to this fall. The team is coached by Chris Mullinix and assisted by ASI senior, Payton Dahmer.

2019 K-State Livestock Judging team. Kaci Foraker, junior in agricultural communications and journalism, is a member of the team.

Team Results:

Champion Team Overall

High Team Swine

High Team Beef

High Team Oral Reasons

Third Sheep/Goats

Team Members include: Adrian Austin, Mt. Vernon, Ill.; Claire Bradbury, Winfield, Kan.; Cooper Carlisle, Ropesville, Texas; Kaylee Farmer, Nevada, Mo.; Kaci Foraker, Burrton, Kan.; Adrianna Gasper, North Vernon, Ind.; Keayla Harr, Jeromesville, Ohio; Cade Hibdon, Princeton, Kan.; Kaitlyn Hildebrand, Ohio, Ill.; Samuel Lawrence, Avilla, Ind.; Cole Liggett, Dennison, Ohio; Michael Loughridge, Chatsworth, Ga.; Megan Marion, Terre Haute, Ind.; Brady McComb, Pratt, Kan.; Justin Nofziger, Wauseon, Ohio; Hadley Schotte, Marysville, Kan.

Agricultural Education Student Named National FFA Star in Agriscience

By Gaea Hock, ’03, ’08, associate professor of agricultural education

Eric Koehlmoos, senior in agricultural education, was named the 2018 National FFA Star in Agriscience.

As a high school student at South O’Brien in Paullina, Iowa, Koehlmoos used his home ATF-approved ethanol facility to research the processes used in a commercial ethanol plant. In high school, his research competed nationally and internationally. While at K-State, Koehlmoos has conducted research on teacher perceptions of the Kansas FFA Agriscience Fair.

https://www.ffa.org/the-feed/meet-eric-koehlmoos-2018-star-in-agriscience-finalist/

ACE/AMS Roundup

By Linda Gilmore

Faculty, staff, and students from the department attended the combined Association for Communication Excellence and Agricultural Media Summit (ACE/AMS) conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, August 4-8. Several department members presented sessions: Linda Gilmore, with Dr. Quisto Settle from Oklahoma State University, presented “Turn ‘Me’ Time into Productive Time.” Cassie Wandersee ’12, ’16  presented “Advanced Facebook Analytics,” “Building a Program Assessment Tool in Qualtrics,” and “Proving Your Worth Through Effective Social Media Metric Reporting.” Jason Hackett presented “Podcasting 101: A Direct Route to Your Audiences Through Audio.” Audrey King, Lauri Baker, and Anissa Zagonel, along with Kris Boone, Ohio State University, presented “What is Today’s Story? Exploring the Land-grant Mission Through Story Circles.” Jason Ellis ‘98 and Donna Sheffield also attended the conference.

 

Members of the department won a Silver Award in the ACE Critique and Awards Contest for the 2018 College of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension Annual Report: Driving Force for Change marketing communications campaign. Those who worked on the project and are included in the award: ACE members Gloria Holcombe, Jason Hackett, Brad Beckman, Mark Stadtlander, and Amy Hartman; and non-ACE members Megan Macy, Dan Donnert, Mary Lou Peter ‘79, Jeff Wichman, Eric Atkinson, Phylicia Mau, Pat Melgares, and Randall Kowalik.

 

Donna Sheffield and Lauri Baker attended the ACE Board of Directors meeting. Donna is the Development Director and served on the conference committee as co-chair of the sponsorship committee. Lauri is the Research Director.

 

Gloria Holcombe received her 20-year certificate for ACE membership.

 

Several students also attended and participated in ACT activities. The Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) club was awarded Chapter of the Year for the second year in a row. This is a national ACT award. ACT adviser Audrey King praised the club saying, “The girls worked so hard this past year, but I know we all had a great time while doing it. Each and every one of these women will go on to do amazing things. I am so humbled and grateful to have a tiny part in their stories.”

In addition to the club award, Jill Seiler was one of four national Past President’s Scholarship recipients and was recognized at AMS. The scholarship is funded by the AAEA Professional Improvement Foundation and in part by CoBank. Sarah Moyer was a finalist for the Forrest Bassford award through the Livestock Publications Council.

 

Students who attended AMS included: Undergrads: Janae McKinney, Mary Marsh, Leah Giess, Mikey Hughes, Sarah Moyer, and Tarra Rotstein; Graduate students: Rachel Waggie; and Spring 2018 recent graduates: Jill Seiler and Chelsie Calliham. Audrey King ‘09 and Katie Burke ’10, ‘15 represented them as advisers.

Outstanding seniors in the department

Story by Anissa Zagonel, master’s student

Each year, departments in the College of Agriculture select an outstanding graduating senior from each academic major. The Department of Communications and Agricultural Education chose Alex Walters from agricultural education and Jill Seiler from agricultural communications and journalism.

The award is based on academic achievement, department involvement, leadership roles and work experience related to their respective major.

Walters served as vice president of the K-State Agricultural Education Club. She also was a member of the Teach Ag Students of Kansas recruitment team, College of Agriculture Ambassadors and Sigma Alpha professional sorority. She completed internships with AgReliant Genetics and K-State Research and Extension in Scott City, Kansas. Most recently, Walters has been completing her teaching internship at Haven High School. Next fall, she will begin her role as an agricultural education teacher at Peabody-Burns High School.

Seiler served as president and vice president of the K-State Chapter of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) and currently is the National ACT vice president. Seiler was part of the editorial group for the spring 2018 issue of the Kansas State Agriculturist. She was also a member of National Agri-Marketing Team, College of Agriculture Ambassadors, dairy cattle judging team, and other organizations and teams. She has completed internships with Wisconsin Holstein Association, Kansas Dairy and Certified Angus Beef.

Congratulations to these seniors and all those who graduated in May. We wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.

K-State Makes a Mark on AMS

Story by Jennifer Ray, second year master’s student

Four K-State Agricultural Communicator of Tomorrow (ACT) members and one nervous graduate student drove 600 miles to attend the 2014 Agricultural Media Summit (AMS). This was not my first AMS; in fact, it was my fifth. It was, however, the first time this California native attended as a K-State student. It was also my first time being responsible for conference travel details.

Front Row (left to right): Malerie Strahm, Maggie Seiler, Jennifer Ray
Back Row (left to right): Kate Hagans, Briana Jacobus, Logan Britton, and Nicole Lane

Kate Hagans, Nicole Lane, Malerie Strahm and Briana Jacobus rode with me to the summit in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Maggie Seiler flew in from her internship at Hoard’s Dairyman in Wisconsin to join us. Logan Britton was already in Indianapolis, where he interned for the National FFA Organization. Despite my fears of locking the keys in the school van, being late to the opening social and having a glitch with the hotel reservation, we pulled it all off and took away some prestigious honors.

Kris Boone, department head congratulates Logan Britton for receiving the Forrest Bassford Award.

Industry professionals and students from across the nation were introduced to Logan Britton, who was presented with the esteemed Forrest Bassford Student Award.

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