Kansas State University

search

Department of Communications and Agricultural Education

Tag: Students

Student Spotlight: Allison Bertz

by Jessica Schaeffer, agricultural communications master’s student

Allison is posing hands folded over stomach in a black shirt and white pants
Allison Bertz

Allison Bertz was raised on a seventh-generation farm south of Kansas City and knew early on that agricultural communications was what she wanted to pursue. She worked for Fahrmeier Farms U-Pick and Produce Market during high school and enjoyed being able to interact with the urban population from Kansas City. Bertz was introduced to Kansas State University and the department when her cousin, Molly Bertz, enrolled at the university. Since her identical twin, Abby, was committed to going to the University of Missouri, she decided to follow her own path and attend Kansas State University pursing agricultural communications and journalism. She has found value in being a student in the College of Agriculture and the opportunities it has provided to grow as an individual.

Bertz devotes most of her time outside of classes to the College of Agriculture Ambassadors program. She is grateful for the opportunity to interact with prospective students and help put them at ease while on their first visit. Last year, she was the College of Agriculture Training Program Coordinator (CAT) for Ag Ambassadors. In this role, she taught current students the CAT class that introduces each major, offerings and specialties in the College of Agriculture. Now, she is the selections coordinator and facilitates the application and interview process for potential ambassadors.

Bertz presenting with green powerpoint and olive dress
Allison Bertz presenting.

She is also involved with Cargill Fellows through which she is guided on developing her professional skills within the industry. This summer, she will be a marketing intern for Cargill. She is also a member of the Agricultural Communications Advancement Team for the major to help recruit students to the major. Serving as secretary for Kappa Kappa Gamma, Bertz helps empower women in academics, volunteerism and leadership. She is also a member of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow.

One of Bertz’s favorite college experiences was when she traveled abroad to the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg in May of 2019 with the agricultural economics department. Seeing how these countries approached agriculture, Bertz was amazed by the technological advancements of the countries. She enjoyed being immersed in the cultures and enjoyed interacting with the people.

Allison Bertz (right) with her cousin Molly Bertz, a 2019 K-State alumna.

Bertz worked for the Missouri Corn Growers Association as a grower services intern following her freshman year. She enjoyed advocating for and representing the industry she grew up in. On behalf of Missouri corn growers, Bertz traveled to Washington D.C. and met policy makers to discuss issues facing the growers. In summer 2019, she was an account management intern for Signal Theory, an advertising agency, in Kansas City. In her role, she conducted behavioral science research with cattle producers. While in school, she is the communications intern for the College of Agriculture producing content for the K-State Agriculture social media accounts.

When she graduates in December 2020, she hopes to be working in marketing because she enjoys how it ties business and communications together through the element of strategy.

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.

ACT photo calendar fundraiser

K-State’s Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow chapter is selling 2020 calendars to support club activities. The calendar features photos submitted by communications and agricultural journalism students. Order copies at the K-State Research & Extension Bookstore before they sell out. Keep up with ACT club news by following the group on Facebook, @kstate.act.

Agricultural Education video wins contest

by Linda Gilmore

K-State agricultural education students won the Collegiate Commercial Contest, sponsored by the National Association of Agricultural Educators. Zachary Callaghan, student in agricultural education, designed the video featuring many K-State Ag Ed students. The video competed against nine other university submissions and the winner was based on number of views. The K-State entry received more than 2,500 views. The video Zachary and other ag ed students created to highlight the program is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ9u4XWw7BQ

ACT photo contest

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

 

K-State’s Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow chapter hosted a photo contest for students, faculty, staff and friends of the program to select the cover photo for the 2020 ACT calendar. The calendar serves as a fundraising opportunity for the ACT chapter. Wyatt Minihan, ACJ senior, had the winning photo, pictured below. Follow K-State ACT on Facebook (@kstate.act) to learn more about ordering a 2020 calendar to support K-State ACT.

2019 National Teach Ag Day

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

Join us in celebrating the 2019 National Teach Ag Day Thursday, September 19. National Teach Ag Day is designed to encourage others to teach school-based agriculture and recognize the important role that agriculture teachers play in our schools and communities. To celebrate, some of K-State’s agricultural education students will be going “live” on Facebook from local schools on Thursday. Make sure to tune in by visiting and “liking” K-State Agricultural Education on Facebook.

Internship highlight – Zach Callaghan

by Zach Callaghan, agricultural education student

This summer, I worked as an Educational Program Assistant at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan. In this role, I primarily spent my time teaching elementary and middle school students during weekly summer camps. Each week was centered around a different theme and focused on teaching the science of animals, nature, and environmental conservation. As a future high school agriculture teacher, this experience helped to build and improve my pedagogical skills by providing opportunities to write curriculum and manage my own classroom. I would definitely recommend this experienceto other Agricultural Education students as it is a great outlet to practice teaching and the curriculum can easily relate to agriculture. With only one semester left until I begin my student teaching experience, I am grateful to have had this opportunity to work with students and teach them a little bit about agriculture along the way!

 

Agricultural Education program home to state FFA officers

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

Of the six state FFA officers elected at the 91st Kansas FFA Convention in May, five are agricultural education majors at K-State this year. Logan Elliott, Asbury, Missouri, president; Abby Goins, Oswego, vice president; Mason Prester, Wilson, sentinel; Lukas Sebesta, Wilson, treasurer; and Elizabeth Wright, Olsburg, secretary, are students in the agricultural education program. Elliott, Prester and Wright are freshmen, while Elliott and Goins are returning students. Agricultural education is well represented and we look forward to seeing what these students accomplish throughout their year in office.

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.

Internship highlight: Mary Marsh

by Mary Marsh, agricultural communication and journalism student

 

For my final summer of college, I decided to go home to California and get a job close to home. This summer, I am working as a field inspector for the California Crop Improvement Association. I am checking sunflower fields in my home county of Colusa. My role is to go to the sunflower fields around the county and make reports about what I see to make sure the crop is high quality, since these flowers are going to be harvested for seed.

I do three inspections throughout the growing season. My initial check is pre-bloom when the buds are just beginning to form. I look for different weeds in the field and for different varieties of sunflowers that may have grown in the field or within a mile to two-mile radius. Although it is not in the job description, I also keep an eye out for different pests causing problems in the sunflowers. During the two bloom checks, I walk out into the field and make sure there are no off-varieties that might affect the quality of seed. Being in the field is important to me, this job is all about getting in the thick of the sunflower action. I have about 90 fields to check around my county. Needless to say, I have been busy and have learned quite a bit about sunflower production!

Although my job is heavily focused on agronomy, I have found ways to keep my communication skills polished. I have brought my camera along with me and have made it my goal to document the various maturity stages in my fields. I also get to interact with agronomists and growers occasionally. So far, I have noticed a growing confidence in talking about field crops since taking this internship.

This job has allowed me to see more of my county and learn a whole new commodity. I will be a stronger communicator because of this hands-on experience in production agriculture.