College of Agriculture and Innovation

Joe Sorensen

College of Agriculture and Innovation

 

I grew up in a small rural community in central Iowa. My family and I lived on an acreage two miles outside town so I have been surrounded by Iowa’s agriculture all my life. Many of my friends growing up had families who farmed and raised livestock. My family does not have a history of farming, so I have never thought of agriculture as a career path for myself. Leadership Iowa University visited the Iowa Soybean Association in Ankeny, IA were we had the chance to meet with leaders in our states agriculture field. After listening to these people speak about agriculture and how extensive the career options are in agriculture, it seems that it would almost be difficult not to interact with Iowa’s agriculture in some way shape or form. I don’t plan on directly working in the agriculture sector if I do business in Iowa, but I may interact indirectly with agriculture in some way. If there is one notion I have taken from this week at Leadership Iowa University, it would be that the direction you think you are heading in your career may change dramatically and never to count anything out because you may end doing something you never even dreamed you would be doing.

The second part of our day consisted of visiting and listening to some of central Iowa’s stories about very successful innovators. In Ankeny, IA we had a chance to meet executives from; Embria Health Sciences, Kreg Tool Company and Acu-Mold. All three of these manufacturing companies headquarter and manufacturer in Ankeny. Two of the business were started by people who had an idea on how they could improve a process or make an entirely new product because they saw an opportunity to make their own business at what they did every day of their life. It was very exciting to hear that this high level of innovation was happening in our back door. All three businesses provide their products on a national and international level. Stories like these are all over the state of Iowa just proving how innovative the people in the state can be, contrary to popular belief.
 
The list just keeps getting longer and longer everyday about the opportunities presented to young professionals in Iowa. Today I enjoyed learning more about Iowa’s two biggest sectors, agriculture and manufacturing. The state of Iowa becomes more appealing to a soon to be college graduate with what I have been learning and experiencing at Leadership Iowa University.

 

Aug 11, 2011 2:07 PM |Add a comment
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