| FFA Nation

Collegiate FFA member Julia Shuck reflects on her college experiences

Julia Shuck | 07/12/2010 |

Editor's note: For this year's annual college feature, we thought it best to get advice directly from a college expert – someone experiencing it for themselves right now.

Meet Julia Shuck, a junior agricultural journalism major at the University of Missouri and a National FFA Collegiate Agricultural Ambassador, as she tells her college story.

A rancher, U.S. president, lawyer, flight attendant, public speaker, world traveler and advocate for agriculture. There are many jobs I’ve dreamed about having in the past 23 years. But as a senior in high school, I never imagined the experiences I would have, people I would meet and what my future plans would be in just four years.

Could a country girl from a town of 668 people really attend the World Agriculture Forum in St. Louis and interview secretaries of agriculture from the United States, India, European Union, Malawi and Uganda? Could I really intern at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, meeting Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin and interviewing Jonathan Horton? Would I really start two clubs at the University of Missouri? Would visiting more than 16 countries be possible? Could I start my own business creating websites for farmers? Would I be among nine students chosen to lead a conference for the top 500 collegiate agriculture students in the United States? Or spend a summer in Costa Rica alone?

As a senior in high school, I didn’t know most of these opportunities existed, let alone fathomed them being on my resume four years later. I wasn’t the valedictorian of my class (or salutatorian, for that matter), my parents weren’t rich (they couldn’t help me pay for college), I was afraid of escalators (and still am), and like everyone else, I was tired of school by senior year. But regardless of class rank, money and escalators, the only thing that could hold me back from doing any of these things was and still is ME.

Getting In
I knew that my parents couldn’t help pay for college. In fact, I didn’t know many parents did until I came to Mizzou. So, I spent 15-20 hours each week my junior and senior years of high school applying for scholarships. I applied for 60 and got 15 – most of which were locally sponsored or for pursuing a career in agriculture – totaling more than $100,000.

My experiences in FFA helped me build my resume for scholarship applications because I could show involvement in extracurricular activities, leadership and public speaking skills among other things. In the industry of agriculture, FFA is highly regarded, and State and American FFA degrees are impressive to both scholarship committees and potential employers. Also, several scholarships are awarded through National FFA. These scholarships, along with my determination to go to college, allowed me to achieve my goal. In high school and FFA, I learned that it took hard work and dedication to achieve a goal. In college, I learned lessons of a different nature.

Life Lessons
College is full of life lessons, and like many people, I believe that most of the learning occurs outside of the classroom. College is nothing like high school. Not even classes are the same. While education is important, many employers will emphasize the importance of the college experience – having to manage your own schedule and resources.

Of the many lessons I’ve learned in college, my favorites are that no two days are the same and college is full of choices. There is no “typical” day, and from day to day, week to week and month to month, every day brings new adventures that I get to experience because of the choices I make.

From the classes I take to the clubs I join, from the job I work to what’s for dinner, I choose how active and successful I will be and if it’s a meatloaf or drive-through night. You get out of college what you put into it. College is nothing less than a launching pad for your career, so be active in building a solid foundation in education, experiences, leadership, networking and community service. Employers look for these things, and it allows you to figure out who you are and who you want to be.

Finding Balance
Lesson No. 1: the balancing act. Too much time spent with friends, watching television or working can be detrimental to your grades. Sometimes the lesson you learn the hard way is that the No. 1 priority in college is to be a student. I didn’t come here to party or work – I came here to get a degree, and D’s do not get degrees. While I’ve never actually received a D (I would lose scholarships if I did), I do face the challenge of getting into graduate school with a GPA that is less than stellar. While companies don’t base their hiring decisions solely on grades, it is a factor because it indicates how well you did your last job. A solid resume and network are crucial.

I was active on campus, studying abroad, working and joining clubs – experiences that are noticed by employers. Networking takes effort and work, but tends to pay off. (How else would I have found out about the trip to Brussels? Or gotten my public relations internship based on an introduction at a meet-and-greet before a St. Louis Cardinals game?)
Meet professors so they know you by name, as well as people in the industry you want to work in because they could help you get a job or find valuable opportunities. One day you might be able to do the same. As well as seeking out mentors, I also strive to be a mentor to others, especially freshmen, sophomores and transfers into the agricultural journalism department, where my experience is most relevant.

I have a few good connections on campus, and if there are special events or jobs coming up that my mentors think I would be good at, they let me know. While the phrase “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” stands true, I’ve found that “it’s not who you know, but who knows you” is also accurate.

Discovering Passion
Between clubs, classes and work, I hope that if you haven’t found it already, you will discover your passion in life. I discovered my passion in summer 2008. I already knew that I loved agriculture and public speaking, things I learned during my high school years in FFA. Knowing this, I majored in agricultural journalism, a career in which I had the opportunity to job-shadow through my local chapter during National FFA Week. Also during high school, I went abroad for the first time to Europe for 10 days. I caught the "travel bug." Symptoms include an intense desire to continue traveling more frequently and to more diverse places. In this quest to fulfill my new love, I discovered my passion.

I was selected to attend I-CAL 2008, the Intercollegiate Agriculture Leadership program, through the U.S. Grains Council and Collegiate FFA. We spent one week each in Egypt and Morocco. On one farm tour in Morocco, we visited a women’s goat co-op, formed by a group of women whose husbands could only find seasonal work. These women and their families lived on less than $2.50 per person each day. I will always remember the amazing hospitality and kindness they showed us and the pride they had over the future their seven goats could provide their families. As we began to leave, an elderly woman, whose physical appearance made her seem much older than she really was, hugged and spoke kindly to me in Arabic. She was giving me her blessings; she wanted the best for me in life, for me to be happy and successful.

This woman who had so little wanted me to be happy. I was extremely humbled, and now my passion is to help those in developing countries rise out of poverty. I want a better future for that lady, her children, grandchildren, and so on. After graduating, I plan to serve in the Peace Corps, working in agriculture in a developing country; get my master’s degree in international agriculture development; and work with an organization that helps farmers and rural workers in developing countries.

Did you know that 3 billion of our world's 6.7 billion people live in poverty, and 75 percent of those are farmers and rural workers? If I hadn’t been born in the United States, I might be experiencing poverty instead of a college education, and hunger instead of the option between meatloaf and drive-through.

But instead of poverty, I am in college getting a degree in agricultural journalism with a minor in international agriculture and communications with a multicultural studies certificate minor. Next fall, I will start applying for the Peace Corps and for universities with a master’s degree in international agriculture development. I can’t wait to experience the next four years of my life!

Whatever your future holds, I hope you consider what college can do for you. Plan every day so that you have the adventures you’ll want to tell your grandchildren. Learn early how to manage your schedule and network. Search for your passion in life so that instead of working, you get paid to play. And remember, you are the only person that can hold you back and stand in the way of unfathomable opportunities.

Have fun, and I wish each of you the best of luck.