Sweet Summertime

Once again the school year has come to an end for UK students. Finally, it’s summertime. Bags have been packed, dorm rooms cleaned out and the journey home completed. The next twelve weeks until the fall semester begins are to be relished upon, soaking up every last drop of freedom and sunshine for most students.

Then there are the recent graduates of our prestigious university. A portion is headed back to school in the fall to pursue masters and doctoral degrees, others are starting “big kid” jobs and some are still determining just what their future might hold. 

I fall into this last group, 2012 alumnus of the University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture, Bachelors of Science degree in Agricultural Economics. In the days since I made the walk across the stage and received my diploma and a handshake from President Capilouto.  

COA ambassadors at Disney

I have been asked countless times “How does it feel to be a graduate?” And to that I answer this, it’s bittersweet. I have grown to love this place, but more importantly the people here. For the past week, I have been in denial that it would all end so soon, that my time here at UK was over. But then I remembered one very important thing- while the places and people surrounding me may change, the memories in my heart will always remain. I will always BLEED BLUE no matter where life may take me. 

Jennifer and her graduation gift- a metal chicken.

As I look back on my four years here, I can’t help but smile. They have been the best years of my life, filled with countless lessons, amazing friends, epic adventures and the best of times. The big blue nation has given so much to each and every one of us, students and alumni alike.   While each of us will be spending our summers’ differently, one thing will always remain the same: we will all BLEED BLUE!  

 

Jennifer is a 2012 graduate of the University of Kentucky, majoring in Agricultural Economics.  She is from Coatesville, Indiana.  Jennifer was a member of  UK Block and Bridle, Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow (STAT), Agriculture Student Council, and was COA Agricultural Ambassador for three years. Jennifer has accepted a full-time position with Dow AgroSciences.

How Ag Aware Are You?

The public perception of agriculture seems to hold a negative connotation.  Often, it is viewed as cows and plows and not for its true meaning.  Each aspect of our lives, from the food we eat, to the clothes on our body, and even the fuel in our vehicles relates back to agriculture.  Those of us that are directly related and passionate about agriculture need others to see it as we do.  We see a rapidly growing population without the technology to produce enough food to go around and extremely high gas prices that we could possibly bring down with the help of biofuels.  Most importantly, we need to educate the public on all aspects of agriculture and how it truly impacts and plays a role in our lifestyles. 

On April 18^th the UK College of Agriculture Ambassadors and Ag Student Council held a campus wide activity-- Ag Awareness Day.  Students were able to stroll through main campus and enjoy free food, visit booths educating them about the many sides of agriculture.  These ranged from the Kentucky Soybean Association to facts about our land grant college, to how clothing is made and developed and budget planning is important to a family, to being able to buy plants grown in our greenhouses on campus.  Over four hundred UK students stopped to check out the buzz about ag and all that our college has to offer.  Through explaining our eighteen diverse majors, many new seeds were planted in young and adventurous minds that were previously unaware.  This was a great way to start off a new tradition for the College of Agriculture and a way to become more connected with main campus here at the University of Kentucky.  

In the future I look forward to being a part of and seeing events such as these blossom into crucial educational activities.  UK has such an opportunity to reach wide and diverse audiences through its Cooperative Extension Service, our top-ten agricultural research, and the production of quality alumni who work through the ranks of the college and University to succeed in their fields.  I can’t wait to witness the future of agriculture and all that the University of Kentucky does to continually improve and innovate agriculture, not only for the students at this university, but for the world.  

Our student newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, did a feature story on the day.  You can read that here:  

  Sara Kate will be a senior in the fall at the University of Kentucky, majoring in Food Science.  She is from Hickman, Kentucky.  Sara Kate is a member of  Alpha Delta Pi sorority, Agriculture Student Council, the Institute for Food Technologies, and is a COA Agricultural Ambassador, where she will serve as senior coordinator of the program next year.