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Department of Communications and Agricultural Education

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ACJ/AgEd graduates 39 in spring 2019

Posted on by Rachel Waggie

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

The Department of Communications and Agricultural Education graduated 29 undergraduates and 10 master’s students this spring. Agricultural communications spring class of 2019 includes Danielle Comstock, Bryanna Cook, MiK Fox, Leah Giess, Megan Green, Kyler Langvardt, Janelle Marney, Taylor Belle Matheny, Ashley McKenny, Sarah Moyer, Tarra Rotstein, Kelly Schrag and Kennedy St. George.

Agricultural education graduates include Rachel Bellar, Moriah Cobb, Sydney Cullison, Allyson Dorrell, Cassandra Ebert, Hannah Fry, Christina Hoffman, Caroline Howsden, Trent Johnson, Eric Koehlmoos, Ashley Lauinger, Savannah Pryor, Matthew Schick, Meghan Strassburg, Melissa Strassburg and Caitlyn Thompson.

Students graduating with a Master of Science in Agricultural Education and Communication include Mariah Bausch, Chelsea Bowen Whittle, Darcie Gallagher, Ernest Jones, Laura Miller, Deanna Reid, Kelsey Tully, Anna Williamson, Lauren Worley and Anissa Zagonel.

Congratulations, graduates! We are proud of you and wish you the best of luck.

Cakes for Cats

Posted on by Rachel Waggie

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

To support the Cats’ Cupboard philanthropy, the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow and AgEd clubs hosted a pancake feed on Tuesday, May 14.

The event served as a great break from the stress of finals, and breakfast smells wafted down the hall of the third floor of Umberger Hall. Club members prepared and served pancakes, sausage, fruit and juice to students, faculty and staff.

A non-perishable food item or hygiene product served as a ticket to the delicious breakfast. Thirty people attended the breakfast and more than 200 items and $20 were collected for Cats’ Cupboard. This was the first time ACT and AgEd clubs hosted the event. Both clubs hope to continue this fundraiser, said Janae McKinney, incoming ACT president.

 

Cats’ Cupboard is open to all K-State students, faculty and staff. The on-campus food pantry encourages students to take food, hygiene and cooking equipment that correspond with their personal needs. Students and staff may use the pantry as often as necessary.

K-State Open House a Success

Posted on by Deanna Reid

By Deanna Reid, agricultural education and communication master’s student

ACT members created a “Launch into Aggieland” trivia game for Open House.

Perfect weather welcomed current and potential students and their families to the Manhattan campus to learn about majors, opportunities, and organizations at the 2019 All-University Open House. The event highlighted more than 250 majors and options and 475 student organizations available at K-State.

K-State agricultural education students were excited to promote their major.

Students and faculty from the Department of Communications and Agricultural Education joined in on the fun. The K-State Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow created and hosted a life-size version of the game Candyland, “Launch into Aggieland” trivia game, and gave away chocolate-covered soybeans. Agricultural Education club members designed and gave away T-shirts at the event as well. Allison Wakefield, a junior in agricultural communications and journalism, said, “The open house was a lot of fun. The ACT members enjoyed interacting with everyone and especially liked playing our Aggieland game with kids!”

 

K-State Ag Ed club members designed and gave away T-shirts to Open House attendees.

Congratulations to the K-State Livestock Judging Team

Posted on by Deanna Reid

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 communications and journalism alumni survey

Posted on by Deanna Reid

In January, an agricultural communications and journalism alumni survey was distributed through the alumni Facebook group to gather information about career paths our graduates follow, most valuable skills in agricultural communications and what upcoming graduates need in terms of scientific knowledge. The survey will guide curriculum changes and help faculty better communicate career possibilities with prospective students. Nearly 125 alumni have participated in the survey.

For those who have not yet seen the survey, we would love to hear from you. We plan to share findings from the survey in a future alumni newsletter.

 

Please use the link below to access the survey. It takes about 5 to 6 minutes and is voluntary and confidential, although we cannot guarantee anonymity due to the nature of some questions.

 

https://kstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3IQWxDr1QBLWUnP

 

If you have questions, email Katie Burke ‘10, ‘15 at kjburke@ksu.edu.Thank you!

Levy Randolph to join the Department of Communications and Agricultural Education

Posted on by Deanna Reid

Levy Randolph has been hired as an assistant professor in agricultural communications and journalism. He will join the Department of Communications and Agricultural Education this summer and begin teaching during the fall semester.

Randolph has degrees from California State University and the University of Florida in agricultural education and communication. He has experience as a conference facilitator for National FFA and owns and operates a video production company with his wife, Tiffany. He has taught multiple media production courses and business writing. His research agenda focuses on science communication through narratives

Randolph’s office will be located on the third floor of Umberger Hall.

Randolph Fills Open Agricultural Communications Professor Position

Posted on by Deanna Reid

We’re pleased to announce that Levy Randolph will be our new assistant professor in agricultural communications and journalism. He will join the department in summer 2019 and begin teaching during the fall semester. 

Levy earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University in agricultural education and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Florida in agricultural education and communication. Along with experience as a conference facilitator for National FFA, he and his wife Tiffany own and operate a video production company. He has taught multiple media production courses and business writing. His research agenda focuses on science communication through narratives. We look forward to his arrival and having a full faculty.

His office will be located on the third floor of Umberger Hall.

 

Imagery in agriculture: ACT calendar project

Posted on by Deanna Reid

By Leah Geiss, agricultural communications and journalism senior

The Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) club has implemented a 2019 calendar sale into their fundraising efforts. Calendar proceeds will help support chapter professional development and travel opportunities.

Calendar photos were taken by agricultural communications and journalism (ACJ) students during in AGCOM 420, Imagery in Agriculture class. Audrey King ’13, ’16 taught this class in the 2018 spring semester. Many ACT members were in the class and wanted to create a calendar to showcase student photography.

“The class was such a great learning experience and helped me really understand the basics of photography,” says Leah Giess, ACT president. “Many ACJ students thrived in the class and took such beautiful photos, so as a club, we decided we needed to share that with everyone.”

Katelyn Harbert, agricultural communications and journalism student, headed the calendar creation process.

“Designing the calendar was an excellent opportunity for using skills learned in the classroom in a real-world situation,” Harbert says. “Gaining this experience while helping support our club has been wonderful, and I am excited to see the project come to fruition.”

For those interested in purchasing a 2019 ACT calendar, the price is $15. Copies will be ready for distribution by December 12. Payments can be made in cash, check or by credit card in person in 301 Umberger Hall. Checks can be made out to Kansas State University ACT and mailed to 1612 Claflin Road, 301 Umberger Hall, Manhattan, Kansas 66506. For credit card payments, call (785) 532-5804. Use this link for online orders: https://goo.gl/forms/v3jIbQsvXE9MUW4U2.

If there are any questions, email kstateact@gmail.com.

Lauri Baker presents at annual KSPA fall conference

Posted on by Deanna Reid

By Allison Wakefield, agricultural communications and journalism junior

“Research isn’t just lab coats and chemicals,” said Lauri Baker, as she spoke at the annual Kansas Scholastic Press Association (KSPA) fall conference in the Kansas State University Student Union. 

Baker, associate professor of agricultural communications and journalism, explained to high school students the needs and benefits of conducting and distributing research. She introduced the Center for Rural Enterprise Engagement (CREE) and its research mission to help people conduct their businesses, especially in rural areas. Baker is a co-founder of the center.

Students received data from two research projects CREE conducted with K-State undergraduate students. Baker detailed the step-by-step process to conduct a quantitative content analysis looking at e-commerce sales in the horticulture industry, which included reading literature about online sales in advertising and related to e-commerce and developing a codebook that was reliable to gather data.

Baker presented the research gathered from the quantitative analysis. The students were amazed at the horticulture websites’ lack of accessibility. Of 498 horticulture businesses, only 19.2 percent were selling online and half of those companies did not have fully functional shopping cart systems for customer purchases.

During her presentation, Baker asked the students what they would want from an online plant-buying experience and compared it to the data collected from the focus groups, known as qualitative research. The groups ask potential consumers what they want from an online plant-buying experience, such as 360-degree video imaging and the use of more pictures.

The students listened to the challenges these businesses were facing and the improvements they could make from the research conducted.

Baker discussed how the millennial generation – those born between 1981 and 1997 – did not love the ideas that were created. She described how their findings helped business owners understand that potential customers wanted many resources when looking to purchase and care for a plant. She also mentioned the pitfalls of not having an engaging, high-quality 360-degree video for the focus groups to view the plants.

Focus group research confirmed that millennials prefer going into a business to purchase plants instead of buying online. It helped researchers understand and communicate to the businesses that they needed more deal pricing to get customers in the door.

The presentation concluded with Baker reiterating the importance of research and how it can help companies boost revenue. Several students said they were inspired by her presentation and asked Baker how to conduct their own research.

ACE/AMS Roundup

Posted on by Deanna Reid

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.