Cur­rent posi­tion:  Pub­lic Affairs Man­ag­er for America’s Cul­ti­va­tion Corridor

Cur­rent city: West Des Moines, IA

What oppor­tu­ni­ties or expe­ri­ences have you been able to take part in that you might not have been able to with­out the schol­ar­ship?

The biggest oppor­tu­ni­ty I had was the chance to trav­el abroad. Hav­ing only left the coun­try once pri­or to col­lege, these expe­ri­ences pro­vid­ed me with a glob­al per­spec­tive on my course­work. See­ing what agri­cul­ture looks like around the world pro­vid­ed me with an advan­tage both in the class­room and when apply­ing for career posi­tions in the agri­cul­ture industry.

Thanks to the sup­port of the Bright Foun­da­tion, I was able to trav­el to Spain, Swe­den, the Unit­ed King­dom, the Unit­ed Arab Emi­rates, and Argentina.

How did your col­lege expe­ri­ence pre­pare you for the post-col­lege work­force? In what ways were you unpre­pared?

My col­lege expe­ri­ence allowed me to secure qual­i­ty intern­ship oppor­tu­ni­ties while at Iowa State Uni­ver­si­ty. These intern­ships helped pre­pare me for the workforce.

How­ev­er, I was unpre­pared to effec­tive­ly eval­u­ate job offers. There’s a lot to think about when decid­ing what offer to accept, includ­ing health insur­ance, 401(k) ben­e­fits, relo­ca­tion mon­ey, etc.

What advice would you give to some­one who is con­sid­er­ing apply­ing for the Bright Scholarship/​Lois Dale Scholarship?

Apply­ing for the schol­ar­ship can be a tedious task, but the reward is worth it! Don’t count your­self out on any appli­ca­tion, just apply.

What is your best piece of advice for an incom­ing col­lege freshman? 

My advice for incom­ing fresh­men is to make a plan to trav­el abroad. Also, get involved on cam­pus and try some­thing new that your friends and class­mates aren’t doing.

What is one of your favorite col­lege mem­o­ries?

Attend­ing foot­ball games with friends and fam­i­ly. 

What is your favorite hobby? 

Lis­ten­ing to audiobooks.