The WT Agriculture Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) chapter recently attended the 2013 Professional Development Conference. The University of Arkansas ACT chapter in Fayetteville, Arkansas, hosted the national conference from March 7-9.
The students were greeted in Fayetteville Thursday evening with a barnyard olympics themed welcoming party at the U of A Equine Center. Olympic sports included hay bucking, water hauling, bucket flipping, roping and a dash of horse racing.
“The opportunity to network is something every student needs to take advantage of,” Haley Sprage, a senior ACT executive committee member, said. “Being able to meet new people and build stronger relationships with WT students was a memorable part of the trip.”
Friday, attendees had an opportunity to tour to Tyson World Headquarters, where they learned about their corporate culture, community relations, social media management and the numerous job and internship opportunities available within the company. They also toured the very first Walmart store, also known as Walton’s 5 & 10, in the Bentonville town square. There they were greeted with a brief history of Sam Walton and his retail empire. The last tour of the day was the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which combines the power of art and beauty of nature in a learning environment.
“My favorite part of the trip was touring the Tyson Headquarters. I learned how important Tyson food really is because everything they produce is for the public,” Kylynn Thomas, a freshman ACT member, said.
Saturday included breakout development sessions, where students heard from several guest speakers including Congressman Rick Crawford and Mitchell Communications Group Inc. The students also had opportunities for discussion and networking with agricultural communications students and faculty from 12 universities across the nation.
“PDC helped me deepen my relationship with my fellow classmates from WT and meet new people from other colleges,” Rylee Elam, a junior agricultural media and communications major, said. “Sharing a passion for agriculture and finding things we all had in common made me even more excited for the future as an ag communicator.”
ACT is a national colligate organization dedicated to developing and strengthening agricultural communication students through professional growth opportunities and educational programs. WT ACT welcomes students pursuing any degree to attend meetings and join.
WTAMU’s ACT chapter meets monthly at the Agriculture Education Center. Follow the “Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow at West Texas A&M University” Facebook page for updates on meetings and opportunities to get involved.
