Blessed to give, not to have: UK DanceBlue Reflection

For The Kids (FTK).  Just three words- three small words- but the meaning behind those three words goes so much deeper.  In 2014, approximately 10,450 children under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer.  This is a number that is much larger than it should be.  No child should have to go through this type of physical and emotional pain, but on February 22-23, 2014, 836 students at the University of Kentucky stood for 24 hours to fight against childhood cancer.  836 students participated in Dance Blue a 24 hour, no sitting dance marathon.  $1,436,606.24 (that’s 1.4 MILLION dollars!!) was raised toward UK’s Child Hematology/Oncology Clinic to help ease the pain of the childhood cancer patients across the bluegrass. 

            For the first time since 2007, the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE) participated in a university wide, Dance Blue Marathon.  In August, a group of students decided that the CAFE should give back and participate in UK Dance Blue.  From September to January, students in the CAFE fundraised, sent donor letters, and emails to help raise money for Dance Blue.  The support that we got from our families, our friends and staff/faculty in the CAFE was endless.  Together, we had eight students on the CAFE Dance Blue team and with the help of many people we raise $2,900 towards the University of Kentucky Dance Blue Marathon.  For our first time having a team in a few years, I am so proud of what we accomplished.  I am also thankful for the kind words, Facebook "likes," support, money raised, smiles and high fives we got along the way from so many.  What I am especially proud of is our attitude towards the marathon.

            Around 12 hours into the marathon, I started to get a little discouraged.  Would I be able to make it to the end?  What if I could not finish?   But it was also around the 12-13 hour mark that I really started to realize who I and the other 835 students were dancing for.  The kids that we danced for have a disease that is constantly damaging their body.  These children do not get to “sit” down after the 24 hours is up.  The kids and their families will forever deal with the aftermath of cancer; even if they survive, cancer will always live with them.  This truly is a sad reality.  It break my heart to hear the number of children who have cancer and to see the strength in the children that were at Dance Blue. When I signed up to participate in Dance Blue, I knew the reason why I was dancing, but it was not until I was really struggling that I really understood who I was dancing for.  

            Around the time that I had this realization, my attitude towards the whole dance changed.  During the 11 minute line dance, which was done at the top of every hour, I was more energetic. I found myself giving words of encouragement to the dancers around me. And most importantly, I found myself not giving up.  If I found myself getting tired, I constantly reminded myself that I am completely capable of standing for 24 hours for someone who cannot and I was surrounded by 835 other dancers that were completely capable and willing to for 24 hours to help those around us.

I am proud of what we accomplished in 24 hours.  I am proud of the amount of people who did not give up.  I am proud of the amount of money that was raised.  I am proud of all of the people who came to support this event.  I am proud of all the leaders on the Dance Blue committees. But what I am most proud of is being a part of a University that wants to make a difference in our state and in our country. As humans, we are called to help those around us who are not capable of helping themselves.  We are designed to be loving, selfless, beings.  FTK are three words that kept us all going.  When our muscles ached, FTK.  When we felt tired, FTK.  When we did not think we could last the full 24 hours, FTK. I was blessed with the ability to stand for 24 hours for someone else and I was blessed to give, not to have. FTK.

Kelsey is a junior majoring in Community & Leadership Development.  She is from Pendleton County, Kentucky and is active in Sigma Alpha, UK Ag Ambassadors, UK Ag Student Council and other things across campus.  She was also a past Kentucky 4-H Officer.

A Big Blue Year in Review: 2013 Edition

[Author's Note: To put yourself in a proper frame for reading, please turn on your favorite holiday music, sit by a fire (or candle), pour yourself some coffee, hot cider, or hot chocolate, and enjoy.]

2013 has certainly been a great year for the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment!  We have so much to be reflective on in this season of togetherness and celebration of love.  Below are some reasons that 2013 has been such a banner year for us all.  This is no way serves as an official list, but one of reflection and promise as we look toward a bright 2014. Check out the University's holiday greeting and then come back to check out the rest of the blog........

What's In a Name?
This year brought on a name change for our College. Our new name has stirred emotions of alumni, students and others, bringing on much discussion.  The new name, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment truly does encapsulate who we are and what we do by today's standards.  For those in the industry, agriculture is such an implied word.  But what about for generations removed from the farm? The addition of "...,Food and Environment" helps focus on some of the pressing challenges for the industry in the future and helps with public education on some of the issues we are working so hard to research, educate and extend ourselves into Kentucky's communities.  The name change allows the general public to better understand who we are: The landgrant College focusing on contributions and innovations in animal sciences and animal health; in crop, plant and food production; in the health and well-being of Kentuckians through nutrition, family development and activity; in food production, development and food security; in environmental stewardship through design, alternative fuel approaches, woodland and natural resource management; and in personal development through leadership, economic and humanitarian measures.

In short, the new name allows us to prepare for the challenges of 2014 and beyond.  We are poised to better tell our story and continue making a difference in the lives of Kentucky and beyond.





Our Students
Our student body currently sits at its largest in UK history.  The University is now nearly 30,000 Wildcat strong.  The many accomplishments of our students through awards in undergraduate research, leadership roles taken throughout campus and nationwide in organizations, and the high academic caliber of our student body make this a big pride point among our Big Blue Nation faithful.  As a top ten research college of agriculture, we hold high esteem for the accomplishments of our students- in and outside the classroom.

Our college's largest undergraduate and freshman classes have came the past two years.  As over 400 freshman and transfer students have entered our door, our undergraduate student enrollment is at 2699 students, and with adding graduate students, we sit at just shy of 3200 total students. The scholastic achievements of our students make them our college's most academically talented group in our history.  This year's mid-fifty percantile for our incoming class was a 22-27 ACT and a 3.3-3.9 high school GPA.  One of our incoming freshman, Megan Harper, of Calloway County, was named a Belles of the American Royal and Agriculture Future of America Scholar.  Others received many top scholarships from around the University and around the country.

Our students continue to impress through academic research, like Devin Henry through the agricultural biotechnology program, Amanda Pesquira who received the Alltech Young Scientist Award, or landscape architect students, Jared Kailen, Justin Menke, and Thomas Wortman, who received Oswald Awards for research and creativity.

Our UKAg students hold leadership positions across the ranks of campus as well.  DanceBlue is a student-ran philanthropy on campus and involves many of our students.  This year's overall student chair is Claci Ayers, an agricultural biotechnology student and UK's current Homecoming Queen.  Many of our other students, including Christa Childers, a dietetics student, who serves on the Family Relations Committee, and Alex Bugg and Kaitlin Klair, serving as team captains of the CAFE Cow Tippers DanceBlue Team, a group consisting of students from across the College. DanceBlue is one of my favorite things our students do each year and it truly brings our campus together.  If you have never been, try and check it out February 22-23, 2014. The video includes last year's reveal and the group dance number at the end, and is sure to inspire you and get your toe-tapping.

Our faculty and staff
We are widely known for our committed faculty and staff that serve the College in so many ways.

We began 2013 with two of our professors, Dr. Roberta Dwyer and Dr. John Grove, being named Outstanding Teachers at the University.  We will begin 2014 by having another recipient, Dr. Mark Coyne, receiving the same distinction.

On a national front, Dr. Bill Silvia, Animal Sciences, was recognized as a Regional National Teacher by the USDA and APLU. Also from Animal Sciences,  Dr. Debra Aaron received the Distinguished Service Award from the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science.

Dr. Kelly Webber, Dietetics and Human Nutrition, received a NIH grant for work on weight loss.  The year's Patricia Brantley Todd Award Recepients were recently named from our School of Human Environmental Sciences, including Jason Hans, Family Science,  for the teaching award.

Some of our student programming won awards at the annual NAADA Conference, including programs for National Ag Awareness Day and Ag Bash.

Leadership
Finally, we want to thank and acknowledge the leadership and administration of Dr. Scott Smith.  Dr. Smith leaves our College where he has been Dean since 2001.  We appreciate his work and commitment to the Commonwealth and wish him the best, although he's not going very far and will be teaching some sections of GEN 100 for our students.

We also want to welcome Dr.Nancy Cox into the role of Dean effective January 1, 2014.  We know that she will be a visionary dean and lead UK Ag to even greater heights.

In Summary......
It's been a great year to be a Wildcat, and hope that some of you who may be prospective Wildcats or parents of a soon-to-be-Wildcat see the many proud accomplishments for our College this year, in years prior and in years to come.  How will you prospective Wildcats engage your potential here at UK and make your mark?  We look back on an exciting year for our College, and look forward to the greatness that 2014 will bring for our UK Ag Family.  

Remember that our Incoming Freshmen Scholarships are due January 15, 2014!

Happy Holidays!!

- Jason H.

Jason Headrick is the Director of Student Relations for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.  He is a 2002 graduate of UK with a B.S. in agricultural communications and is set to complete his MA in May 2014.  He serves on the board for the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association.  He also is on the board for the Fayette County UK Alumni Club.  

Winter Event tells the tale of UKAg

     Happy New Year to you all!  A new year means a little redesign of our blog appearance.

     Classes start tomorrow and it will be good to once again have students around to fill the hallways with the hustle and bustle of student life.  It's exciting to see the students well rested from their holiday break and ready for another great semester.  Just because it's the beginning of the semester doesn't mean that it's slow around here.  Students are already talking about classes they are taking, conferences and trips they are going to, DanceBlue (UK's 24-hour student ran dance marathon), and maybe even a possible NCAA Championship from both our men and women's basketball teams!

     We've been busy in the College of Agriculture as well.  Our annual Winter Event was over the weekend.  Our Ag & HES Alumni Association did a great job of providing an event for our alumni and friends to gather and celebrate the many good programs and accomplishments of the College and other fellow alumni.  President Capilouto stopped by to bring greetings and also took time to meet with some of our admitted students for Fall 2012 who were at the event.

     Speaking of these prospective/ admitted students, we were proud to host 41 students and their families over the course of the weekend here at UKAg.  We invited admitted students back in December and these families came to campus for what we hope was a good and informative time.  I know we had a great time with them.  These students were from Kentucky, Illinois, Georgia, Ohio and Tennessee and all of them brought a passion for their intended major and for learning more about UK.

      The students met with faculty members representing our undergraduate programs, learned about scholarships (the deadline is January 15th for College of Agriculture freshman scholarships), financial aid, housing, our College's Turner Leadership Academy, the process behind advising conferences and about our Agriculture Residential College.  Our student ambassadors took them on a tour and then they came back to a portion of the program we call, "The First Lecture Series."  A few of our always excellent faculty members presented snippets of their research and work to the students to give them a preview about topics and experiences they might encounter while being a student at UK.  Dr. Mark Williams discussed sustainability and our sustainable agriculture program.  Dr. David Williams talked about green energy and the impact that a few projects UK is working on could be in the long run for bioenergy.  Finally, Dr. Lori Garkovich talked about building community and what that means across the spectrum. 

     Our campus guests got to eat a great dinner with our Ag & HES Alumni Association board and some of our administrators.  This is always a great networking opportunity for the students and the alumni.  I hope everyone enjoyed the Kentucky bourbon bread pudding as much as I did.

The Parent Session at Winter Event

     Aside from the Winter Event meal and the Wildcat win in the basketball game, my favorite part of the program is what happens on the morning of day two of our admitted student program.  We have Parent/Student sessions and we separate the two groups from one another.  The first hour I spent with the parents while our student ambassadors were with the students- and then the ambassadors and I switch.  Why do I like this part so much?  It's great to hear the questions that the two groups ask without one another.  The don't have to worry about embarrassing their child with questions about safety or classes, and the students don't have to worry about wanting to learn more about social life and how to balance newfound freedom. 

     This has always been one of my favorite events to host in the College.  I like how these students come together to learn more about UK and leave with a greater sense of what it means to be a Wildcat from all levels: a student, a faculty or staff member and an alumni of the Big Blue Nation.  I've seen roommates, boyfriends/girlfriends, and great UK connections form from this program.  If you think about it, it's pretty telling of what your experience here at UK in the College of Agriculture will be.  A great education in a great environment with great people. 
     And that's a great way to start the new year. I can't imAGine a better way.

Jason Headrick, '02
Director of Student Relations

Special Thanks to Kelli Long for her blog header design!