AFA Leaders Conference 2008

Join me at the 2008 AFA Leaders Conference on November 6th-9th in Kansas City, MO!

I attended the AFA Leaders Conference last November for the first time and I can honestly say it was the best conference I have ever attended. The AFA Leaders Conference offers three program tracks that carry out AFA's mission to support college men and women preparing for careers in the agriculture and food industry.

Track One focuses on personal assessment and is tyically for freshman; Track Two focuses on communication and is typically for sophomores and juniors; and Track Three focuses on managing change and is typically for juniors and seniors. AFA Leaders Conference also includes the AFA Opportunity Fair where Delegates interact with business and organization leaders to discuss internships and full-time job opportunities.

The AFA Leaders Conference was exceptional in my opinion because of its world-class speakers, its exectutive panels in which students interact with CEOs and executives from various organizations, its practical application and its unique goal of bring together college students from across the nation who share a passion for agriculture.

If you are interested in securing a sponsorship to the 2008 AFA Leaders Conference, please contact Hannah Phillips at hannah.phillips@agfuture.org or call AFA at (816) 472-4232.

You may also visit http://www.agfuture.org/ to learn more about AFA and the Leaders Conference or feel free to post your questions by clicking on the comments link below and I would be happy to help you.

Top 10 in Kansas City

10. Heart of America Shakespeare Festival in Southmoreland Park - Othello was incredible

9. AMC Barry Woods 24 movie theater - the MOST comfortable seats!!!

8. Zona Rosa - new outdoor shopping area with great restaurants (Tomfooleries was excellent!)

7. Partnership Place at 9th and Grand - the home of Agriculture Future of America

6. McCormick & Schmicks - the BEST Salmon I have ever tasted

5. Country Club Plaza - beautiful Spanish architecture and flowers... I hear it's pretty stunning at Christmas time too!

4. Ward Parkway - the most beautiful homes and landscaping in Kansas City

3. 39th Street West - an eclectic and vivacious community near the Plaza

2. Delaware Cafe - the MOST delicious potato leek soup and sandwiches

1. The fountains!!! - they are everywhere and every one is just as beautiful as the one before it

A special thank you to my wonderful friends who came to visit me in Kansas City and had the opportunity to experience some of these great locations!

15 Days to Go!

Yesterday I realized that I only have 11 more days of work at Agriculture Future of America and 15 days total. It is amazing how fast the time passed! As my internship comes to a close, I have realized the innate sense of pride I have developed for this organization. All of the writing and meetings have solidified AFA's critical mission in my mind. Having the opportunity to contribute to the personal and professional development of young leaders and re-branding agriculture has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you to everyone at AFA for believing in my ability and pushing my limits. I have learned so much from each one of you.

Yesterday I received the first proof of the 2008 AFA Annual Report!!! It felt like Christmas morning in July. It was incredible to see all of the pieces come together. After numerous drafts of content, multiple design meetings with Brian ("the design guy") and contradicting opinions from the AFA staff -- the report came together beautifully. It was certainly a lesson in patience, time management, teamwork, communication and compromise, but the final product would not have been the same without all of the hurdles. My take away lesson from this project is to soak up constructive criticism like a sponge, but have confidence in your abilities. It is so important to learn from other people -- most of the time you will emerge from the challenges with a better result.

I am interested to hear an important lesson you discovered this summer. Please post your responses via the comment link below.

In the Home Stretch...

I cannot believe that I only have four weeks left in Kansas City! It seems like just yesterday that I was nervous about moving to the big city… and now that I am in the home stretch, I am not sure if I am ready to leave. My internship with Agriculture Future of America (AFA) has been an incredible learning experience. While the staff here at AFA is small (six people including myself), I have gained something from each person. The AFA staff produces a memorable office dynamic. They are innovative, hard-working individuals who can triumph over any pickle and know how to have fun.

Now that my internship experience is half complete, I have seen some of my efforts come full-circle. I was responsible for writing, images, layout and editing in the AFA June newsletter and yesterday a box of printed newsletters arrived at the office. It felt great to see the product of my hard work. The Kansas City area intern event I was responsible for coordinating and hosting was also a success. Nearly 30 summer interns from 10 different universities across the United States gathered to eat pizza, learn about AFA and network. My primary summer project is also near completion! The 2007-08 AFA Annual Report content was sent to Brain “the design guy” yesterday afternoon. My role in the annual report was to provide ideas and direction for the design and to write and edit all of the content. I cannot wait to see the finished product next week!

Living on my own has become easier with time. I have come to enjoy the responsibility of checking my mail, cleaning, grocery shopping, paying my own bills and growing up in general. I have learned so much about myself during this process. I occupy my free time by working out at Gold’s Gym, scrap booking, reading and swimming. I have also enjoyed visiting my great grandma who lives a couple hours north of the city. While I miss everyone back home, I have been lucky to have visitors throughout the summer! My sister Lynsie, mom, Uncle Jake, friend Anne, and sweetheart Tyler have all come to visit and I love showing them around the city. My four best friends are visiting this weekend and we are looking forward to soaking up some sun and visiting the famous Country Club plaza.

Overall, this summer has been an unbelievable growing experience. In one month, I believe I will go home with a fresh perspective on life, a renewed appreciation for those I love, a mind bursting with knowledge and skills and an attitude that says, “HERE I COME WORLD!”

Kickin' It in Kansas City

This summer I decided to take a huge leap and accept a Marketing and Communications internship with Agriculture Future of America (AFA) in downtown Kansas City, MO. AFA is a non-profit organization that is nationally recognized for its excellence in leader training and career development for college men and women and young professionals in the agriculture and food industry.
Taking an internship eight hours from home was a pretty big move for me, but I have quickly realized that it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. As my first week on the job comes to a close, I have written eight articles for their summer newsletter, organized the newsletter layout and written three posts for the AFA AgriBlog linked to their website (check it out!!!). As the summer progresses, I am looking forward to working on AFA's annual report, helping with a media kit for their Leaders Conference, doing some design work, helping with an advertising campaign, planning several events and much more.
It is usually difficult trying something new, but in the end I can tell you that pushing yourself a little further than you might normally go can be incredibly liberating and a great way to learn more about yourself and the world around you. So take that leap and see what happens!!!
I will continue to post throughout the summer with updates about my internship with AFA, the Cow Town of Kansas City (most of which I have yet to explore), and the joys and challenges of making it on your own.

Happy Summer everyone! Stay cool!

Spring Break Success

Since early in the semester, the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) have been planning a professional development trip to visit some of the leading communications agencies in Chicago and I am happy to say that it was a huge success! We had the opportunity to visit with top management and employees at both Rhea & Kaiser and Gibbs & Soell. We learned what both agencies do on a day-to-day basis and viewed several of their samples. We received insight on what agencies are looking for in their employees and what entry level opportunities they offer. Gibbs-Soell provided a delicious, catered lunch and we wrapped up our incredible day with a meal at the Grand Lux Cafe on Michigan Avenue in Downtown Chicago. I would like to give a special thanks to Steve Rhea and Barbara Warda at Rhea & Kaiser, Jeff Altheide and Michelle Vinnes at Gibbs & Soell, Dr. Evans for his guidance in planning this trip and Patrick Bane for serving at our driver for the day. ACT is planning on coordinating another professional development in the next academic year, so any agricultural communications students who missed out on this trip, keep your eyes open for future opportunities. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe spring break!

8 Days and Counting...

ExplorACES is just around the corner and the action is picking up. I have the privledge of serving on the 2008 steering committee. It is a huge responsibility, but working with the team to prepare for this event has been an insightful professional development experience. Through working on this team, I have learned about website design, podcasting, program design and editing, event logistics and much more. If you are a student in the College of ACES looking for a way to get involved, this is it! Being a member of the ExplorACES steering committee requires leadership, responsibility, organization, communication, innovative ideas and a lot of hard work, but in the end I know for a fact that it will be completely worth it. I love having the ability to make a difference in the College of ACES while learning valuable professional skills and making new friends. Please contact me if you have any questions about the ExplorACES steering committee or if you are interested in pursuing a position on the committee in the future.

Have a great weekend!

ExplorACES Podcasting

How many of you have heard about podcasting? Are you interested in learning how it works and gaining some practical experience? The ExplorACES 2008 Steering Committee has decided to recruit communications students to help podcast at ExplorACES on March 7th and 8th. We have all the equipment you need and you do not need to have experience with podcasting, we can teach you everything you need to know. Podcasting is simple and fun. This opportunity will allow you to use your creativity and communications skills to interview people at the event including: prospective students, faculty, staff, parents and distinguished guests. Podcasting at ExplorACES will look great on your resume and will be a great way to represent your college. Please let me know if you are interested (including which day or days) by emailing me at abane2@uiuc.edu and we will set up a group meeting to teach you about podcasting.

Professional Development Opportunity Anyone?

I have an amazing opportunity to share with any students interested in the communications industry. The Illini Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow are planning a professional development day-trip to Chicago that features some of the leading businesses in communications today. The leaders in both of the companies we will visit are Ag Communications alumni and are very excited to meet students like you. This trip will give you an opportunity to network with experienced individuals in the industry, ask questions, enjoy a fabulous trip to the city, and bond with other students interested in communications.

Date: Monday, March 17th (during Spring Break)

Businesses: We will visit Rhea & Kaiser, a marketing and communications firm, and Gibbs-Soell, a public relations firm.

Meals: The trip will include breakfast at Panera Bread, lunch at Gibbs-Soell and dinner at the Grand Lux on Michigan Avenue at no cost to you!

For more information feel free to comment on my blog or email me at abane2@uiuc.edu.

Sweet Semester

I have been so busy I have not had a chance to add to my blog, but this semester has been beyond amazing so far! My classes are hands-on and engaging. My favorite class is definitely AgCm 240 - Photography in Agriculture. I have learned how to take black and white photos using a manual, film camera (Pentax). Everyone in the class has also learned how to develop their own film using the dark room and this past week we learned the "art" of printing our own photos! Through this class I have grown a lot closer to my AgCm classmates and it is so much fun watching our photography mature and improve. AgCm 240 is a small class and it is somewhat difficult to register for (it is typically only offered in the spring semester), but I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in photography or communications in general. Bob Siebrecht is your key to get into this class.

I am also enjoying my Advertising 300 class. The teacher, Steve Hall, has worked in the industry and seems to know anyone and everyone around the world. He makes the class entertaining with his fun personality and real world examples. Adv 300 is a class that students look forward to attending. Try it out!

This semester I am also serving on the ExplorACES 2008 Planning Committee. This committee consists of a team of students that serve different roles to organize every detail of the College of ACES largest recruitment event of the year, ExplorACES. This committee certainly keeps me on my toes, but it has been a priceless experience when it comes to event planning and learning from talented people in the college. On the committee I serve as the website chair. I worked with another student to redesign the ExplorACES website. I have also helped the public relations team edit and put together the event program as well as other public realtions materials. My newest duty on the committee is to learn about podcasting so we can add sound clips to the website post-event. I cannot wait to use audio equipment to conduct interviews at ExplorACES, what an amazing opportunity! I know that I will continue to help with this event throughout my college career and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to network within the college and gain some event planning experience. DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT EXPLORACES MARCH 7th AND 8th!!!

These are the highlights of my semester so far! I hope everyone is in good health this winter and with a little luck spring weather is on its way!