LEXINGTON, Ky., — Agriculture Future of America selected Lily Beasley for its ambassador program. Beasley was one of only 25 AFA ambassadors nationwide selected for the competitive program.

AFA is a nonprofit organization that helps college students develop personal and professional skills through special events, mentorship and industry networking opportunities.

Beasley is a University of Kentucky freshman in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. She is majoring in community and leadership development.

As an AFA ambassador, she will work on promoting the organization and helping fellow students take advantage of AFA opportunities. She plans to organize an application workshop for the AFA Leaders Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, this November.

“Growing up in Nashville, agriculture felt like a completely different world to me, and I wasn’t always sure what a career in agriculture would look like,” said Beasley. “After attending last year’s AFA Leaders Conference in Kansas City, I realized how easy it is to plug in to the ag community and make professional connections."

In addition to leadership and networking opportunities, AFA also organizes five specialized agriculture institutes for policy and law, technology, food, animal health and crop science.

“Beyond professional connections, AFA is great place to apply what I’ve learned. For example, I was able to join an industry conversation about GMOs after just writing a paper on the topic,” Beasley said. “I am excited to get to know other students interested in agriculture and help them realize how they fit in to the industry.”