Dickinson Scholars

2013 Dickinson Scholars 

I recently received the honor of being named as a 2013 Dickinson Scholar for the College of Agriculture, Foods & Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. Twenty collegiate sophomores and juniors are chosen through a written application and interview process. Becoming a member of this elite group was one of my goals when I entered the University of Missouri.

The Dickinson Scholars program is designed to introduce student leaders in CAFNR to leading Missouri agribusiness leaders, professionalism and provide networking opportunities. The program was a week-long opportunity held in Kansas City. My fellow students and I were divided and partnered with a agribusinesses in the Kansas City area. Thus, my week was spent with John Deere!

I was thrilled to be paired with my favorite agriculture machinery company! John Deere employees gave my group tours of their company headquarters and dealerships- it was great to see both avenues of the company. I learned about company strategies and met with representatives from all Deere departments, from communications to legal. (Due to my career goals both were very interesting to me!) During tours my fellow schoalrs and I ran into many successful MU alumni, which made me proud to be a tiger!

Dickinson Scholars is in memory of the late Gary Dickinson, his wife continues his legacy through coordinating the program for CAFNR students each year. As a scholar, I had the chance to meet Mrs. Dickinson. She is a patron of the arts and our schedule included a tour of the Kansas City Art Museum as a culture experience.

The 2013 agenda also included networking with the Kansas City Agribusiness Council, the National Agri-Marketing Association, and other program businesses such as Cargill, Farmland Foods and Bartlett & Co. The program included tours at businesses such as Dairy Farmers of America, the American Royal and Duff Dynamic Marketing. After interning in Kansas City this summer it was wonderful to be back and visit with individuals I had met previously. In addition, I enjoyed catching up with my fellow CAFNR students (since we had been apart for four weeks on break!) and getting to know MU faculty members better.

Our college has a year-long leadership program, Litton Leadership Scholars, for freshman and the Dickinson program is primarily targeted to sophomores. I have been privileged to be a scholar of both programs. Next year, hope to gain acceptance into the John Brown Scholars, which is MU's leadership program designed for juniors. My hope is to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible during my time at MU.