Meet Student Member: Ashleigh Gay!
By Ashlyn Rochester, ACN Communications Specialist
As part of the new and incoming student members, sponsored by Filament, we’re highlighting the new members. Ashleigh Gay is a student University of Arkansas, where she studies Agriculture Communications. To get to know her better and why her student membership in ACN is important to her, we asked her a few questions.
1. Why are you studying agriculture?
Agriculture is essential to feed the world’s ever-growing population. I believe by studying agriculture, I am being equipped with the skills and knowledge that I need to make a positive impact on the world.
2. What position, goal, or outcome do you hope to accomplish with your agriculture degree?
My ideal career path is to become an agriculture policy specialist and then eventually became the Oklahoma State Secretary of Agriculture. It is of upmost importance to me to be a bold advocate for agriculture and its future.
3. What do you hope to gain from your student membership to ACN? If it’s something specific, like a mentor or feedback, please be specific and include an email address for members to reach you at.
I believe a membership with ACN will allow me to build relationships with other Ag Comm professionals, grow and excel as a professional communicator and stay up to date on the latest trends in the industry. I am so excited to meet and work with other members within this wonderful organization. Please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] with any advice, questions, or comments!
4. As part of the application process, we ask applicants to write a few short paragraphs on the value of joining ACN, and why this would help the applicant in their career.
I believe a membership with Agricultural Communicators Network is invaluable. To me, relationship building is the most important piece in succeeding in your career. ACN would allow me to build countless lifelong relationships with other professionals, learn from them and grow with them. As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.
Just as these relationships would sharpen me personally and professionally, the skills that I would sharpen as well as gain from this network would be crucial to my career in the field of ag communications. The partnerships with AAEA Professional Improvement Foundation and the International Federation of Ag Journalists are the perfect recipe for success.
As an agricultural communicator, it is of utmost importance that we stay up to date on the latest trends in the industry. I believe in the power of collaboration and as a member I would get the opportunity to learn from others, share my own ideas as well as get professional insight. I would sincerely love the opportunity to be a part of a premier organization such as ACN.
Students can apply or be nominated for membership. Please share this with interested students and/or nominate a student today. Thank you, Filament, for investing in the future of Ag Communicators!
The application is available at this link.