Agriculture students recognized as student leaders

Four agriculture economics majors were picked by the Monsanto Company, one of the largest agricultural companies in the country, to participate in its annual Council of 1890 Universities Student Leadership event in St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 19-21.

Sophomores Bobby Smith II and Krystal Blakemore, junior Brady Faggard and senior Johnie L. Jones III were among the 45-50 students who had been picked from land grant historically black colleges and universities around the country including Florida A&M, Tuskegee, Virginia State.

"It was overwhelming," said Blakemore. "It motivated me to be the professional I will be in the future, right now."

During the conference students attended several workshops geared toward leadership, personal relationships and networking development. Participants were also given the opportunity to interview for internship, co-op and job opportunities within the Monsanto Company. Recipients of the company's internships etc. would be paid, receive a company car, a company credit card and be required to travel all over the state.

The conference participants were able to gain information on how to be more productive leaders at the university as well as in their daily lives. Smith said the speakers helped him understand how important it is to overcome challenges and not be deterred by them.

"We learned how to be better leaders and the importance of overcoming obstacles," Smith said. "As a leader, you'll have to endure obstacles and figure out how to overcome them. We often let small obstacles stop us from moving forward."

Blakemore and the others met with the company at the Oct. 1-2 career fair on campus sponsored by the Office of Career Services and Outreach and interviewed for the leadership convention there. They were required to have a 3.0 GPA or higher.