It is easy to take agricultural students out of the country, but it is difficult to take the country away from agricultural students.
That was evident this spring when four Northeast Community College agriculture students traveled to Washington, D.C. for a few days to learn about the nation’s capital, the country and agriculture. The students traveled with Brandon Keller, an agriculture instructor at Northeast Community College.
Upon returning home, spending time with the students, followed by a tour of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) building and speaking with USDA officials, proved to be one of the highlights of their trip.
Natalie Brabeck of Lee said she visited Anne English at the USDA and took a tour of the USDA, which included visits to several USDA buildings.
Brabeck said English mostly shared information about plants and crops and covered that aspect of USDA’s work. Students also had the chance to ask English questions, including what employers are looking for.
“We talked about things like what are their expectations for the next generation coming into the workplace,” Brabeck said.
Brabeck took out a notebook and wrote down English’s advice.
“Being able to communicate, be approachable, go out and do good things, help people, and never stop learning,” Brabeck said. “She said the moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing.”
Howells’ RJ Beyer said English also spoke about Carolina, where she does a lot of work. She also offered words of encouragement and talked about how she got to where she is now.
Beyer said he enjoyed interacting with members of Congress, including Rep. Mike Flood of Norfolk, who also gave Beyer a tour of the Capitol.
“His knowledge of American history is incredible, and his knowledge of politics and how things work was also very impressive,” Beyer said. “When you grow up in the Midwest or you’re in college, you don’t get to see that stuff or know much about it. You’re just told to work hard. It was great to see what these guys are doing for their country and learn about their ethics, why community colleges are important, why it’s important for the Northeast to come to Washington, D.C. to get funding.”
Beyer said if he were to make another trip to Washington, D.C., he would bring a notebook so he could write down and remember more things.
Brabeck said he was impressed to meet Flood and see how someone from a rural area like Norfolk could rise to become a U.S. representative, and he also enjoyed meeting other staff members from Nebraska.
“It was just nice to share the two-year college experience,” Brabeck said. “I think two-year colleges get overlooked a lot. I think they focused on four-year colleges. It was really useful to talk to them.”
Brabeck said she wrote down a lot of things during her trip, but wished she had written down more.
“I don’t always remember everything, so writing it down really helps me spread things out,” she said.
Alexus Wegener of Burwell said he enjoyed attending the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum.
“I watched the videos online last year,” Wegener said, “and then I went and learned a lot. I’m really glad I went because I get to meet people from all over. I met someone from South Carolina, and their way of farming and ranching is so different from the way we do it, it was really interesting.”
Wegener said he plans to incorporate what he learned on the trip into his daily life and will write more down next time.
Sheridan Smejkal of Wagner, South Dakota, said she also enjoyed the Agricultural Outlook Forum.
“There was just so much information to absorb,” she said. “I took a lot of notes, but if I go back and watch it again I’ll record it so I can listen to it later and review it further. There was just so much information – what’s going on in California, all the different things going on in agriculture.”
This annual trip is open to first- and second-year students who submit an application. Applications are reviewed by six Northeast staff members not affiliated with the agriculture program, and any identifying characteristics of the students are removed. The top four are ranked by the judges, and the School of Agriculture and the Northeast Foundation each sponsor two trips.
