Over the past few weeks, I’ve become friends with a girl majoring in speech pathology. Today at lunch we were talking and my brain was stirred with a memory that I haven’t thought of in a while. I find Danielle’s major very cool, especially since speech pathology was my first career aspiration. Strangely enough, that original career goal has played a part in leading me to where I am now. Story time…
Once upon a time, there was an 8th grade girl who needed to choose a career path for a school project. The health profession appealed to her because 1) it was based on scientific fact and 2) it used that science background to help people. After searching career websites, she finally decided on speech pathology. She thought being a speech teacher would be just right for her.
This girl grew up on a farm, but took for granted that lifestyle. She did, however, love it and joined her local FFA chapter. As a sophomore, she had the opportunity to apply for the Missouri Agribusiness Academy. Somehow, she made it through the application process and went on to interview. When the interviewers asked what her career goals were, she got nervous because she knew her career plans weren’t within agriculture. She explained that she hoped to go into speech pathology. She wanted to make a difference in the lives of young children and help them to overcome their speech impediments. The interviewers took this answer better than she expected, and after that she relaxed.
When it came time for the interviewers to ask follow up questions, one of the interviewers spoke up. He explained that he had a speech problem when he was younger, but that he was now a successful radio spokesman. He asked more about why she wanted to be a speech teacher, and she explained about her sister’s speech problem and her family friend with Parkinson’s Disease who was working with speech pathologists to come up with a way to improve her communication. This was when the girl realized that though she may not be pursuing a career in agriculture, she could still affect the agricultural industry. A few weeks later, she found out she had been selected to be a part of the Missouri Agribusiness Academy.
Attending MAbA, she met many people her age who were very active in agriculture, as well as industry leaders who encouraged them to get more involved. Her eyes were opened to the fact that agriculture was changing. Her eyes were opened to organizations that were threatening the life she had always known, and to agricultural practices she had no experience with. By the end of the week, her career goals had not been changed but they had been challenged. She realized that she wanted to be part of this industry, she wanted to help ensure that the life she had grown up with would be there forever.
When she came home, she decided to learn more. The next year, she served as an FFA officer and finally found her niche. The next spring, her FFA advisor encouraged her to enter the Larry Harper Essay Contest. Standing on stage at State FFA Convention, it all became a little clearer. Afterwards waiting in line backstage, she talked to her advisors. They encouraged her to develop an Agricultural Communications SAE Program, which she did. It began as exploration mostly, then became what she knew she was meant to do.
Today that girl is sitting at a desk in Schurz Hall at the University of Missouri. One of her friends from MAbA is sitting next to her working on chemistry homework. Two others are in the room next door, and yet another two are just down the hall. All are getting ready to take the next step in the agricultural industry.
It’s amazing where life will take you.
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