Another great aspect of the Agronomy Dept. is having lunch specials throughout the semester! A cheap and delicious meal in between classes with great company makes any day better! And the proceeds go to help the local food bank!

Carl Joern's Introduction

Hi there!

Thanks for visiting the Purdue Agronomy Ambassador Blog.  My name is Carl Joern.   I am a junior studying Soil and Crop Management.  I joined the Agronomy Department as a student from a non-farming background.  In the future I hope to attend graduate school and become an agronomist for a large agricultural corporation.  I’m guessing that you might be visiting this page to learn a little more about Purdue University, what the Department of Agronomy has to offer, or maybe just to take a break from studying.

I came to the Agronomy Department because I was interested in sustainability and world hunger.  The department has given me so many opportunities that I never anticipated.  There are several clubs in the department that offer students an opportunity to learn outside the classroom, network with their professors, do service work, but more importantly just to relax and have fun.  Some of the organizations I am involved with at Purdue are Agronomy Club, Soil and Water Conservation Society, Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, Gimlet Leadership Honorary, and Agronomy Ambassadors.  The department also offers students the opportunity to work in world-class research labs.  Whether you are interested in research to help feed the world or would just like a job with flexible hours to help pay the bills, the opportunity is there.  Let’s not forget why you’re going to college in the first place, to get a job.  The College of Agriculture has over 90% job placement.  Well I think that’s a pretty good start about myself and our Agronomy Department here at Purdue.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me by e-mail (cjoern@purdue.edu).  Thanks for stopping by!

Carl…

Andrew Wilhelm

Hello my name is Andrew Wilhelm and I am a senior in Turf Science and Management. I have been an Agronomy Ambassador since April 2013 and have enjoyed every minute of it. I am also involved with Turf Club where we get to compete against other universities at national conferences each year to test our skills and knowledge up against other turf science programs. Pictured below is my team where we placed 3rd overall at the National Sports Turf Managers Association Student Challenge. Pictured from L to R (Andrew Marking, Zach Ferguson, Andrew Wilhelm, Matt Dudley). It has given me the opportunity to get more involved with my department. I have been able to lead tours of our department for prospective students, speak with people about what agronomy has to offer at Family Weekend in the fall and at Spring Fest. This department as a whole has so much to offer to prepare you for what lies ahead of you after college; your career. In the past three years I have had sports turf internships with the Purdue University Intercollegiate Athletics Department Sports Turf Crew, the MLS team Real Salt Lake, and the MLB San Francisco Giants. This summer I will be interning in both Ireland and Scotland doing a multitude of things that I have never experienced before. The first half of the summer I'll be working at two horse racing tracks called The Curragh and The Naas. The second half I'll be working for a sports field and golf course construction company, and one of only two USGA Physical Soils Labs in all of Europe. I look forward in what the summer holds for me and the once and a lifetime experience. The Purdue University Agronomy Department has lived up to and more than what I have expected. I am eager to post more about my experiences here at Purdue University and my internship over-seas this summer. 

Meet an Agronomy Ambassador

Hello all! Welcome to the Ambassadors blog page. My name is Claudia Benitez and I am a junior in Natural Resources and Environmental Science all the way from Dallas, Tx. Coming to Purdue freshman year was my first time in the Midwest and it has been quite an adventure (a cold one I might add). Coming from a big city, I never pictured imagined I would find myself within the college of Ag but three years later I could not be more certain that I picked the right place and I have learned so much. In addition to serving as an Agronomy/NRES Ambassador, I also participate in a couple of honor societies such as the National Society for Leadership and Success and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). I am an officer in NSCS and help plan an annual March to College Day for local middle schoolers to have the opportunity to come to Purdue and get excited about higher education. I love being able to get younger kids excited about learning and therefore I also tutor middle school students once a week at Klondike Middle School. I live with 80 other girls in my sorority house, Delta Gamma, and cannot believe my time with them and here at Purdue is nearly coming to an end. Being involved in lots of different activities has truly enriched my Purdue experience and has made an incredibly large campus feel like a tight-knit community.

Agronomy Ambassador

Good evening everyone,

My name is Kole Kamman. I am a junior studying agronomics business and marketing. I am from a farming background in Columbus, Indiana. My family farms mainly corn and soybeans. I spent last summer working as a grain merchandising intern with CGB in Cincinatti, Ohio. It was an awesome experience where I gained a great deal of understanding of how to interpret the grain markets. This summer I am very excited to announce that I am moving to Ottumwa, Iowa. I'll be working for John Deere Corporate as a Marketing Intern. I am very excited to have the opportunity to work for such a prestigious company and can't wait to see what the future holds.  

My name is Kelsey Tuholski, and I am currently a senior in Crop Science.  I come from a 6000 acre grain farm in La Porte, IN, where we grow everything from seed corn, soybeans, and wheat to popcorn and mint.  I have been working on the farm alongside my family since I was old enough to handle a shovel, so I suppose you could say that pursuing an agricultural major was something of a no-brainer to me.  Once I arrived at Purdue, I took advantage of the countless extracurriculars that the university has to offer.  I joined the American Music Repertory Ensemble, one of Purdue's four jazz ensembles, where I played principal bass trombone.  I became the first ever woman to play on the Purdue men's lacrosse team.  I also became involved with the Agronomy Club, which allows students in agronomy to connect with their peers, department faculty, and industry professionals.  More recently, I became involved with Agronomy Ambassadors, which allows me to connect with prospective students and other visitors to show them the great opportunities available within Purdue's agronomy department.  I am grateful for all that Purdue has given me, and I look forward to graduating this May and representing my alma mater as a professional in the agriculture industry.

Hello! My name is Brittany Sievers and I am an Natural Resources and Environmental Science student. I come from the small town of LaCrosse, IN. I have been an agronomy ambassador since my junior year. One of the reasons I chose Purdue was for the many different opportunities that the university has to offer. While here, I have been able to connect personally with professors at socials and participate in clubs such as Boiler Green Initiative and Helping Paws. Also I have been fortunate enough become a member of groups affiliated with the College of Agriculture like the Agronomy Ambassadors and the International Agriculture Ambassadors. Besides club activities, I chose to pursue my degree at Purdue within the College of Agriculture due to the fact that even though the college is large, once you visit the people within it make you feel like part of the family. Before starting my degree, I had little knowledge of agriculture but because the classes here are taught for all levels of understanding I was able to gain a through grasp on the workings of agriculture by establishing a solid foundation from which to build. Throughout my four years at Purdue, I have grown professionally and personally in a way that has readied me for the world while making last memories that I will treasure for years to come. I hope that you prospective students come by to visit so that you may take part in the experience that is Purdue. I can assure you that you will not regret it. I hope to see you soon!

Meet an Ambassador!

Boiler Up! My names Maggie Shoue and I'm from North Liberty IN. I live about 30min southwest of South Bend. I came to Purdue in the Fall of 2011. My biggest reason for choosing the Department of Agronomy here at Purdue was my involvement with my high school FFA chapter and my background of growing up on a farm. Immediately when I came to Purdue I got involved with things like the Agronomy Club, Purdue Soil Judging team, and the Soil & Water Conservation Society. Throughout my time here in the Purdue Agronomy Department I have been able to find my true passion for sustainable agriculture. Which is why I'm very excited to graduate in May of 2015 with a degree in Sustainable Agronomic Systems Business and Marketing. I hope to take all the knowledge I have gained from the Agronomy Department and return home after graduation and help make my home town a more productive and sustainable place in agriculture. Another thing that has truly helped me while at Purdue is the opportunity to learn through hands on experiences like summer internships. The agronomy department has greatly helped me in having the experience to internship with many different areas in today's agriculture which have allowed me to see first hand what I would like to do after graduation while being able to put all the knowledge I learned in class to good use. I can say that without joining the Purdue Agronomy Department my future would look much different, and I wouldn't want my future to look any different than it does right now! So come take a tour, meet the faculty, and learn what Purdue Agronomy has to offer for you! And of course, BOILER UP!

Welcome Everyone! I'm Ashley..and this post is a little about myself. I'm from Kosciusko County, IN (north-central IN). I came to Purdue knowing I wanted to be involved in the ag industry, but didn't know whether it should be Animal Science, Ag Economics, Ag Education, etc. But after taking an introductory course in Agronomy- I knew that's where my passion was. I am now a senior graduating in May 2014 with an Agronomic Business & Marketing B.S. with a minor in Ag Econ. Getting to this point went beyond the margins of books though; I am an active Agronomy Ambassador, an alum sister of the ag social sorority Sisters of the Harvest Moon (SHM), and a member of Collegiate Farm Bureau. My summers were spent interning with DuPont Pioneer at a corn production facility which allowed me to apply the information I was learning in the classroom.  The opportunities, networks, friendships, experiences, and memories I have made these past 4 years have made impacts in my life that I will certainly never forget! Come visit the Agronomy Department and let me show you our way of learning! Boiler Up!