The Graduate Students in Agricultural Economics (GSAE) is an organization which promotes the academic, professional and social interests of all graduate students majoring in agricultural economics at Kansas State University.
Graduate student, Weldensie Teklay, explains his current research project during the Brown Bag Seminar on March 2.
The organization consists of more than 30 active members who meet once a month to discuss development opportunities, plan social events and establish professional relationships. In addition to monthly meetings, the GSAE hosts bi-weekly social events, monthly breakfast socials with the Agricultural Economics faculty and staff, and hosts Brown Bag seminars.
GSAE meets monthly for “breakfast club” meetings with the agricultural economics faculty and staff.
Annually, GSAE members compete in numerous professional competitions. This year there are two teams from GSAE competing in the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association’s (IFAMA) case study competition this June in Minneapolis. At the Applied and Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA) and Western Agricultural Economics Association (WAEA) joint conference in July in San Francisco, students will participate in the case study and extension competitions and present their research papers and posters. Throughout the year, the members present at other professional and K-State events such as the Risk and Profit Conference.
New assistant professor, Terry Griffin, discusses spatial econometrics at the March 2 GSAE Brown Bag Seminar.
GSAE strives to not only create a community among our graduate students but to also develop members’ ability to apply economic knowledge and skills to real world agricultural issues.
Please visit the NEW website to learn more about club events, research and awards. Follow GSAE on Facebook at /ksugsae.
The Kansas State University National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Chapter is an organization dedicated to the professional development of its members. The club meets twice per month to discuss marketing tactics as well as help members prepare for their future careers. There is also a team that develops a marketing plan for a new agricultural product selected in the fall. The marketing plan is presented in the Student Marketing Competition at the national NAMA conference in April.
K-State NAMA develops marketing plans to aid businesses in the 17 poorest Kansas counties.
The club received a portion of the USDA Rural Development Grant called “Project 17”. This semester they made the main focus of the club to reach out to the 17 poorest counties in Kansas by helping different small businesses make effective marketing plans for their products. The club joined forces in this endeavor with the Pi Sigma Epsilon Marketing Club from the College of Business. While this is a great opportunity for the companies, it is also provides real-world marketing experience for KSU NAMA. Past experiences preparing and exhibiting in the NAMA Marketing Competition gave them a “leg up” as they strived to design effective marking plans for these companies.
K-State NAMA’s competition team researches at practice to prepare the 2015 marketing plan for SafeNut peanut butter, which is free of allergens.
This year’s NAMA competition was held April 14-16, the team was very busy getting their marketing plan ready. This year’s team made it to semi-finals in competition. The department’s faculty and staff are very proud of their efforts.
Please follow the club on Twitter @KansasStateNAMA and “Like” them on Facebook at K-State NAMA to keep up with all that they are doing!
K-State NAMA’s competition team prepares its SafeNut marketing plan for the April 14-16 conference.
The Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Club’s current officers are Michael Porter, president; Nick Wineinger, vice president; Cody O’Brien, secretary; Shannon Maxwell, treasurer; Casey Thyer and Nathan Smart, membership co-chairs; Bryan Otott and Lucas Sudbeck, social co-chairs; and Ryan Goetzmann, Ag Council representative.
From April 30 – May 2, the club will take a spring trip to visit Gavilon and John Deere. These events encourage interaction with fellow students, department faculty and staff, and industry leaders.
Club officers socialize with faculty and staff at the April 1 bake sale.
On February 24, 2015, 34 Kansas State University College of Agriculture students joined the ambassador team. Newly selected students from the Department of Agricultural Economics include, Nolan Allison, Eureka; Coleman Forst, Marysville; Abigail Horn, McCoy, Colorado; Anna Setter, Humboldt; Kristin Stiebe, Kinsley; Halli Wigger, Troy; and Youwei Yang, China; and Rachel Zimmerman, Ulysses.
The ambassador team aids in recruitment of prospective students and will represent the College of Agriculture at various events throughout the year. More than 800 prospective students are anticipated to visit the college this year to tour campus, sit in classes and hear personal K-State stories from the ambassadors.
Student ambassadors are key to attracting prospective students to the college because the ambassadors have relevant testimonials from the different classes and activities in any of the 16 College of Agriculture majors. The ambassadors also represent the college when speaking with alumni and other stakeholders.
“The ambassadors are the ones that are experiencing college,” said Cherie Hodgson, agricultural economics academic coordinator. “They are the ones that are in the clubs and organizations. They are in the classroom and they experience the environment, so they are our best representatives.”
A prerequisite to the application process involves passing the 8-week College of Agriculture Training program aimed at teaching the students about the college’s departments and programs. The application process included a written application and a simulation of a situation students would potentially face as ambassadors, followed by an interview.
Currently, the department is home to 26 of the 94 ambassadors. Hodgson attributes much of this participation to the personality of the students.
“Leadership is something that we promote in the department,” Hodgson said. “Think about it in the job market, they are going to be managers and presidents of organizations… They like the interaction with people, they see the value in leadership and they want to develop those leadership, management and communication skills because they’re going to need those in the workplace.”
Hodgson also sees a lot of value in the ambassador program because of how it benefits the students. She says they learn more about the college and have more opportunities connect and interact with students, faculty and staff on campus as well as alumni and industry professionals. They practice time management and communication skills while coordinating activities and events.
Zelia Wiley, assistant dean of diversity and director of diversity programs in the College of Agriculture, nominated Justine for the award, which was established in 1997 to recognize outstanding individual contributions to diversity enhancement.
“I nominated her because of her academic excellence and compassion for social justice for all,” Wiley said.
Following the nomination, Floyd presented for 10 minutes on the subject of Multicultural Student Organizations (MSOs) bridging and bonding on K-State’s campus to a selection committee consisting of at least 10 faculty and student leaders at K-State. Following her presentation were 10 minutes of Q & A from the selection committee. To demonstrate how MSOs bridge and bond, Floyd spoke about the recruitment, retention and graduation of multicultural students as a result of being members and leaders of various MSOs such as the Black Student Union (BSU), Asian American Student Union (AASU), Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO) and many more. For many multicultural students, their first college experience is Multicultural Academic Program Success (MAPS). This is a 6-week academic and professional developmental program for high school graduates attending K-State in the fall in the Colleges of Agriculture, Business, and Engineering. Because of this, Floyd suggested that MAPS was the first step on the bridge, followed by joining MSOs and by finally receiving their Mortar Board and graduating. Thus, the theme, “From MAPS to Mortar Board.”
Floyd is joined by Andrew Barkley, department head Allen Featherstone, and Zelia Wiley at the award ceremony January 27.
“Justine has demonstrated exceptional character, leadership, and service toward the enhancement of multiculturalism and diversity in the department of agricultural economics, the College of Agriculture, and Kansas State University,” said Andrew Barkley, agricultural economics professor and Floyd’s advisor. “Justine is dedicated to the service of others, an outstanding role model and mentor to other students, and a true pleasure to work with and be around.”
A reception occurred to honor Floyd after the committee selected her for the award; the reception video can be viewed here. Floyd gave a second presentation at the ceremony to talk about the importance of multiculturalism and diversity and how the two subjects, though different, work together.
“Being a student leader at Kansas State has taught me to understand and value the difference between diversity and multiculturalism. More importantly, it has taught me that when you pair the two, there lies great potential for success,” Floyd said in her speech. “I believe that multiculturalism and diversity are a dynamic duo that have been and will continue to be the framework by which students on this campus find themselves.”
She gave thanks to Commerce Bank for their support of K-State’s diversity initiatives; her parents, Tarrance and Jacqueline; Bryon Williams, assistant director of undergraduate admissions; Zelia Wiley; Andrew Barkley; Brandon Clark, program assistant in the office of diversity; and Myra Gordon, associate provost in the office of diversity.
Department representatives Arlo Biere, professor emeritus; Jeff Williams, professor; and Cherie Hodgson, academic coordinator; congratulate Floyd at the award ceremony.
Floyd was joined at the reception by her parents, friends, various department representatives, members of the Black Student Union and advisors and members of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS). A representative from Commerce Bank and Pat Bosco, dean of student life, also attended.
“It has been a pleasure having Justine as a student in our college and most specifically as a student in the K-State MANRRS chapter,” Wiley said. “She takes pride in her personal demeanor and takes responsibility for actions. I witnessed her growth both personally and academically. I am very proud she will become a graduate of our college and represent the diversity programs office.”
“I felt really honored and I felt overwhelmed. I feel like I won an award for something I actually care about… It wasn’t so much academic as it was social activities. It felt like I was actually making a difference,” Floyd said.
She described the process of receiving the award as fun and challenging. In May, Floyd will be the third African-American to receive a Bachelor of Science in agribusiness from the Department of Agricultural Economics. She has also been a communications assistant for the department since June 2014.
Winners of the Commerce Bank award for enhancing multiculturalism receive a plaque.
Categories
Please, insert a valid email.
Thank you, your email will be added to the mailing list once you click on the link in the confirmation email.
Spam protection has stopped this request. Please contact site owner for help.
