An Ag-Tastic Day

I'm a little late on this post, but it's one I have to share with you all.

Blame the five-course load and excessive student club involvement for my shoddy blogging abilities. I certainly do. But time management is a skill I'm working to develop, especially after completing my last two papers in the wee hours of the morning.

Last Saturday was jam-packed with agvocacy. It was one of those days that gives you the boost you need to keep working towards your goals. The kind of day where you're doing what you love, so getting through those impending midterms becomes more of a stepping stone than a roadblock. I'm so poetic today.

My morning started at the crack of 8am in the Butterdome (large, awkwardly yellow building on the University of Alberta campus) to set up for the U of A Open House. I attended the Open House exactly two years before as a wide-eyed high school student, terrified by all the huge buildings and studious-looking people. It was exciting to be on the other side of the booth, helping students decide what they wanted to take and educating them about their options at U of A.

Since I was an Agriculture student for my first year and am now in Ag Business,
I spent the morning hovering between these two booths

I left Open House in the early afternoon to drive about 100km south of the city to a little place called Genessee Community Hall to give a presentation on social media in the beef industry. I was presenting to a group of beef 4-H members and their parents at a regional learning day.

Presenting on different social media platforms

The presentation was on the basics of social media: what it is, how to use it, and how to be safe with it. I couldn't think of a better way to demonstrate the effectiveness of social media than to reach out to my Twitter followers for advice. Below they answered my tweet asking them why they think social media is important for agriculture.

I got the chance to tell the group about the fabulous places social media has taken me (ahem, Nashville) and the great people I have met through it (see just a few of them above). And you can trust that I said great things about all of you.

I'm thankful that all of you are part of my social media story. And I'm thankful to be so passionate about communicating agriculture, and sure that it is where my future is going.