It’s finals week. As a college student the past 4 years, this week was one of excitement, depression and panic.
Now, as I sit in my office at the Nelson County Extension Office- it’s just another week. When I get a break, I check out my friend’s social media posts and read about them staying out too late last night and having to study all day today. I read about how they just went to Walmart in their PJs to get some colored pencils for their final project. Sometimes it’s 1:00 in the afternoon and I read that they’ve just woken up. That’s when the jealousy kicks in. I worked late last night but this morning, I had to wake up, dress nice, and be in the office ready to roll. I have to answer phone calls and handle questions and remember to mail out the newsletter. I have to report every move I make 15 different times in 20 different places.
Sound terrible? It isn’t.
I worked late last night with some awesome co-workers looking at other extension offices because we’re about to remodel ours. I woke up this morning and got to dress nice. Surprisingly, once you graduate, you’ll remember how much you enjoy making yourself look presentable. While sweat pants and ponytails are comfortable and convenient, a skirt and cute flats bring on compliments I rarely remember getting in the halls of Ag North. When I got to the office this morning, there were cookies on the counter and Christmas tunes on the radio. I sat in the front office with my secretaries for the first 15 minutes laughing about nothing. A pretty good way to start the day if you ask me.
It’s only 10:00 a.m. and I’ve already updated the webpage, answered a few questions about our barn quilt program, mailed some information to some people and am flipping through pictures of a craft day I did last week with some really awesome little kids. I’m currently looking at buying a house, I just got a new car and I haven’t eaten Ramen noodles since I walked across the big stage and shook the Dean’s hand to get my little piece of paper.
Do I miss college? Yes. I can’t lie and say the big girl world is always better. But do I love the real world? You bet. There’s something about walking into your own office that instills a sense of pride like nothing else can, finally being seen as a respected co-worker instead of a young college kid. I get to plan classes and programs to help families and kids improve their nutrition, finances and way of life. I get to go to schools, other counties and other states. Two weeks ago, I taught kids how to save money and helped them decorate piggy banks to take home. Last Wednesday, I had a class teaching 23 women how to make snowmen decorations out of yarn. I GET PAID TO MAKE SNOWMEN. Does it get much better?
The best part about what I do? I’m using my degree to do it. How might you ask did I end up making snowmen and piggy banks with a degree from the College of Agriculture? I have a degree in Family Studies- a major in the School of HES, a small part of the College of Ag. A lot of people get confused as to how the two relate. Let me try to clear that up: the School of Human Environmental Sciences (HES) is home to the following majors: Human Nutrition, Dietetics, Family Studies, Family and Consumer Sciences Education, Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles, and Hospitality Management and Tourism. Think about it: Agriculture isn’t just cows, sows and plows. It produces the food we eat. The same food chefs cook to serve you at your favorite restaurant, and the same food you buy from the grocery store (Crazy right?). It also produces the fibers that your clothes, pillow cases, sheets and home interior items are made from.
Say you’re considering being a hotel manager. You need to know the most effective way to manage the establishment and understand your consumer. You’ll need to know just what type of cleaning method you need to use to get that stain from that cotton pillow a guest just used (gross right? But you get my point). Welcome to Hospitality Management and Tourism. Home: School of HES, College of Agriculture.
Let’s say you want to be a doctor but you aren’t really interested in a traditional major. Welcome to Human Nutrition. Home: School of HES, College of Agriculture.
Say you’re looking to help people get their diet back on track. You’ll need to know the nutritional components of every food known to man. Welcome to Dietetics. Home: School of HES, College of Agriculture.
Say you’re looking to dress some fabulous performer to perform on the Grammy stage (dream big kids). You’ll want to know what fabrics flow just right and which one’s won’t rip if a cameraman steps on the train. Welcome to Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles. Home: School of HES, College of Agriculture.
Say you want to help families get their nutrition, finances and lives back on track. You realize that running a home is no different than running a hotel. Welcome to Family Science. Home: School of HES, College of Agriculture.
For me, I knew I wanted to work with families and help kids have bright futures. I wanted to help families realize their value. I wanted to help kids be as lucky as I was growing up, with a family who could afford the clothes I wore and the food I ate. Most of all, I wanted to make a difference. Even if that meant helping one family, I was going to do it. Now, being the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent at the Nelson County Extension Office, I get to do that every day.
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| Dayna sitting at her desk in Nelson County |
My diploma proudly displayed on my shelf, I’m constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have gotten a job in this market. People right now are so caught up in how bad the economy is that they say college isn’t worth the time and money. Me? I’m a proud success story who wouldn’t be where I am without my college degree.
And it isn’t just the classes that prepared me for this job. It was the professors, the faculty, the staff, my advisor, my friends, my fellow Ambassadors and my mentors who prepared me.
I can honestly say I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing had it not been for a few people in the College of Ag. One convinced me to go there, helping me find a major I was interested in. One made me fill out the application (against my wishes might I add) to intern with Cooperative Extension, now my full time employer. Others nominated me to be an Ambassador, where I got skills I couldn’t have learned anywhere else. And others didn’t do anything but say “hey” as I passed through the halls or sit and eat with me in the Ag North deli. But I’m here because of them.
As a recent alumni of the College of Ag, I vividly remember the frustrations of the college world. I remember dreading class, forgetting homework, sleeping in and not having a clue what was going to be on the test I was walking in to take. I remember forking over thousands of dollars of hard earned money thinking, “this better be worth it one day.” And let me tell you- it is. Hang in there.
If you’re a freshman- congratulations! You just survived your first semester of college. Cherish the rest of them because they FLY by. Stay up late laughing with friends, get up early to cram for your 8 a.m. test, and eat too many fries at K-Lair. Go to hockey games at midnight and basketball lotteries until 2 a.m. Support the soccer team and buy t-shirts from the MAT club. Buy cupcakes at the bake sales and take your resume to the Career Fair just for some feedback. Go to Ag Bash and Round-Up. Rub Patterson’s toe before a big exam. Join any club you’re even remotely interested in, even if you’ve never done something like it before. Visit the farms, thank your professors and worry about your homework.
If you’re a senior- congratulations! You’re about to enter into your last semester of college. Cherish it because it goes faster than all the others. But the good news? The real world is waiting just on the other side of that Rupp Arena stage with welcoming arms and it isn’t half as scary as people make it sound. Lexington and the life you knew is just a drive away and big kid jobs do come with vacation days.
If you’re a high school student thinking about going to college: do it. Yes, it’s hard at times. No, it isn’t always fun and freedom. Yes, it’s expensive (thank you scholarships). But the hefty price tag is so worth the family you gain and the benefit you’ll get in the end.
I promise it’s worth it. GO CATS!
Dayna P., '10
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