Life lessons in editing

A lesson in editing is one thing that the six students who attended the National ACT Professional Development Conference learned. Not only did we learn how to edit our resumes, we also learned how to edit our travel plans.

After landing at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport around 9:30 a.m. we settled into the waiting area at the gate for our next flight and final destination, Lubbock. The six of us were commenting back-and-forth about how great the weather was and how happy we were to be on our way to the professional development conference, but how we wish we could have time to explore Dallas.

Suddenly, there was an announcement. “The American Airlines flight to Lubbock has been delayed due to weather.” I thought to myself, “It’s not snowing… what’s going on?” About five minutes later there was another announcement. “The American Airlines flight to Lubbock has been cancelled and there are no more flights to Lubbock today. Please make your way to the counter for arrangements.”

Dumbfounded, the six of us darted up to the American Airlines counter. We were bound and determined to get on the first flight to Lubbock on Friday morning. We didn’t want to miss out on any part of the professional development conference!

Although we didn’t want to miss any of the professional development conference- I believe we gained a few life lessons from our edited plans. Six young ladies stranded in Dallas, what would we do?

Making new flight arrangements, finding a hotel, making financial decisions for a new plan, and making the most out of a situation is professional development at its finest. We took a real life situation, handled it professionally, and learned a few things along the way.

 

 

#lovemymajor

After attending the National ACT conference all I could think about was that the future of ACT and Ag Comm was bright. Several schools were in attendance but I couldn’t be more proud to be an Ag Comm major at the University of Illinois. 

It was great to meet and see so many students that were passionate about their major. The most interesting thing is that each person was passionate about completely different areas of the major. It was refreshing to hear where people wanted to take Ag Comm and to learn about all of the different outlets the major offers.

After attending the ACT professional development conference I realized that I truly love my major because there are endless amounts of opportunities and a million [okay sorry I'm exagerating a little] paths where the Ag Comm major can take me in terms of a career. The conference made me wish I got involved with ACT sooner because of all the stories I heard from other students and the industry professionals. It also made me realize that Ag Comm could be one of the most versatile majors any University or College could offer but only if the student puts in the work – one of those “you get what you give” type deals.

Hmmmm and I guess I’ll end on some advice for the younger Ag Comm majors: get involved sooner because the more you’re involved, the more you will figure out what you’re passionate about and what you want to do career wise. Oh, and never forget that little phrase you were told when you were little “you won’t know until you try it”

Danielle “Yes, Everything is bigger in Texas” Schaffrath

Developing something

The first ‘normal’ day of our trip began with another ride from Dr. Tanner. We headed to Texas Tech’s Student Union. It was…newer than the Illini Union to say the least. We broke out into different sections, luckily for everyone, each person had a partner with which to develop our professional skills. There were three different sections we got to go to.

One of them was called ‘Agvocacy.’ Ooooo! Wordplay! Josh Winegarner came in and talked about his work in Washington. It was good to hear about what topics are currently on the table for agriculture legislatures. The network news programs don’t tend to cover these subjects as well as they should. I went up and talked to him about something I had heard about Rick Santorum that has never been addressed on MSNBC in the mornings. We kept talking and he gave me his card and took my name. I may have just found myself an internship for the summer. I’d say that was professional development.

Another session we attended was event planning. Diane Johnson talked us through her system, one that she has spent years perfecting. We took notes. She went through the different ways to delegate responsibility and whom to have on your team. Detail-oriented, dedicated people make the best teams. Most importantly seemed to be the finances and connections, which tend to go hand-in-hand.

The last breakout session was about social media; a subject we can never seem to hear enough about, nor should we. Did you know that 97% of Pinterest users are women? Yeah, neither did we. Danielle and I shared this information with everyone else at lunch. In turn, they told us about the tour of Texas Tech they chose to go on.

These breakout sessions were helpful and taught us a lot. Even thought we did a lot of sitting and listening, each time we had the opportunity to ask questions, which of course we did. Did we develop as professionals? I’d say so, or at least at our hand-raising abilities.

 

Llano Estacado Winery

At the ACT Professional Development Conference we were given the opportunity to tour two local agricultural based operations, one being a denim factory and the other a winery.

We visited the Llano Winery located just outside of Lubbock, Texas. The Llano Winery has an on-site small three-acre vineyard and uses other local grapes to produce their wine varieties. The Llano Winery crushes between 700 and 800 tons of Texas grapes each year to produce their wine.

 

While at the winery we learned the process of making wine from start to finish. We visited the on-site vineyard where we saw empty vines, as February is not a growing season for the grapes. Following the vineyard, we saw where the grapes are collected and crushed and transferred to fermentation tanks. After leaving the fermentation tanks, the wine is placed in barrels to age. Although they were not bottling while we were there we were able to see the machines that bottle the wine and how the cork is placed in the bottle.

The visit was concluded with a wine tasting for those 21 and older within the group.

A difficult road to Lubbock, TX

As our plane jolted to a stop Thursday morning at the Dallas Fort Worth airport, Claire, Danielle, Ellen, Liz, Renee, and I were more than happy for a small break before we hopped our second flight to Lubbock for the 2012 ACT Professional Development Conference (PDC).

Being the typical college students we are, all of us plopped down on the blue vinyl seats, threw our feet up, and pulled out our homework. About 30 minutes into our wait, a ticket agent’s voice came over the intercom. She told us our flight was delayed.

Then she said the flight was canceled. A resounding groan fell over the crowd in the waiting area.

I’m sure the look on our faces was a mixture of annoyance, surprise, and panic, but we picked up our things, waited in line at the counter and began to discuss our plans for the day. Though the idea of renting a car and driving the five hours to Lubbock was tossed around, we opted to take a voucher for discount hotel rooms and reschedule our flight to 7:40 the next morning.

Even if we weren’t going to make it to Lubbock that day, we knew we wanted to make the most of our trip, so we grudgingly headed to the hotel and began to chatter about how we were going to spend our day, with one requirement: food!

After spending the summer in Fort Worth, I knew a place that would meet all of our requirements and give us a little taste of Texas—the stockyards! When we arrived, the beautiful weather and small Thursday crowd couldn’t be beat. We started off with some delicious barbeque and then “hoofed it” down the bricks of Exchange Avenue.

The Fort Worth Stockyards features several restaurants, shops, a hotel, and entertainment venues. Weaving in and out of small shops, trying on boots, hats, and dresses, we found ourselves immersed in the culture of Cowtown. People in sparkly belts and cowboys atop sorrel horses lined up in the streets, preparing for the 4 p.m. “cattle drive.”

We learned that Fort Worth became the hub of the livestock industry in the late 1800s, serving as a major thoroughfare for cattle produced throughout Texas. In the early 1900s, a processing plant was built adjacent to the stockyards’ holding pens, which kept the cattle in Fort Worth longer, contributing to the local economy. The entire attraction was added National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Though we didn’t make it to Lubbock like planned, we enjoyed the day away from classes to meet new people and understand the agricultural heritage of the southwest. In the Fort Worth Stockyards, the cattle are long gone from the dusty wooden pens and the packing plants have fallen silent, but the celebration of livestock production is still very alive.

Last Days at APHA

You haven’t heard from me in several weeks, so let’s fix that!

I have been out and about in the city of Fort Worth, toured some farms in Aubrey and Pilot Point and have been to New Orleans and back. It’s been a busy couple of weeks…and the next couple weeks will be busy as well.

After the World Show it seemed like I had lots of different things going on, which was nice. I was able to go to the NCHA Summer Spectacular and see the youth finals, which was a great time, and a couple weeks later (that show lasts forever!) I came back for the open finals. One of my favorite things about Texas is that there is no shortage of cattle events—obviously, since there’s a lot of corn and not a lot of cattle, we don’t get much of that in Illinois.

Somewhere in between I made a little jaunt to New Orleans for the Ag Media Summit. I was excited to network with so many new agricultural communications professionals, and was also able to blog on agriculture.com. Though I’m sure my entries didn’t have too many hits, that’s an opportunity that isn’t provided to many students.

AMS also brought with it the Forrest Bassford award interviews, which I thought went well. I met the other finalists, Shannon Watson and Andy Barth, both from Oklahoma State University, and met up with the last finalist, my roommate Jill. She was fortunate to win the award, and I know all the folks at U of I are very proud of her!

After returning from AMS, it was back to work for a few weeks. I immediately wrote a press release about the NEW fall internships that APHA is offering this September. The deadline is August 15, 2011. (Disclaimer: I try to avoid shameless plugs where possible—but who am I kidding? I’m looking toward a career in PR.)

I also got started on a commemorative 50^th anniversary APHA calendar. This has involved lots of research on my part, but it has also yielded interesting information. Some of my favorite finds: ads for paint horse stereo knobs and several old photos of my co-workers. That’s been fun! See my blog for more.

Though I am sorry to say this week is my last with APHA, I have made lots of friends and plenty of memories. Honestly, if I could stay with this position and this job, I would. I have certainly learned of the responsibilities and challenges, as well as the benefits of Association work.

What better of a place to live and work but in Fort Worth, Texas (officially my favorite U.S. city) at the American Paint Horse Association! I certainly have more photos and stories to share, so for a more in-depth look, please visit my website or blog.

Eight Days Left

Only eight days left….

This will probably be the most difficult week so far! I am very excited to go home but I do not want to leave Australia.

Things I’m looking forward to at home:
There’s a lot but the main things I can think of right now…

• My Family!
• Friends!
• Senior year at U of I!
• My birthday 8 days after I get home! The Big 21!
• Being back in Chambana and campustown!
• The organizations I’m involved in including 1867 Society, Alpha Zeta, ACT,  Pi Phi and AAF… great organizations to be involved in!
• Living in my apartment with my roommate Lauren 
• Every sunday attempting to cook for my friends Cory, Carl and Alfred so I know how to cook my favorite dishes when I’m back in Australia … aka Mac and Cheese haha… these are brave men… just ask Terry.
• Also my dad’s famous sweet corn!
• SUN!!!! I’m so pale! I’ve literally gone from winter/rainy weather in the States to winter/rainy weather in Australia….
• Excited to share all the new things I’ve learned and continue developing my skills!
• American food!!!

Thing I’m going to miss about Australia:
Again there’s a lot but the important thing are…

• *<3 Terry <3*
  • (even though I’ll see him soon after I return… only 4 months apart… that’s not long at all)
• Terry’s family and friends
• Everyone at The Land and everyone I’ve met during my internship!
• Driving on the left side of the road
• Driving over the Syndey Harbour Bridge
• Tax included so I know exactly how much I need to pay (Ex. McDonalds ice cream in Aus is $0.50 …. in the US it says $1 on the menu but it’s really $1.12)
• News… the news here is so much more informative than back home… I know more about what’s going on around the world and in the US than I ever have watching or reading new in the States.
• Not worrying about tipping people
• Winter is more like early American Fall… so it’s not that bad…
• The wonderful landscape and evironment when driving or walking around
• The beach …. only went once but I don’t have beaches in central Illinois.
• TimTams! =D

Things I wont miss

• Vegimite
• Beetroot (sorry Terry)
• Crazy people on public transporation that always seem to find me