Every summer, selected rising high school seniors in Kentucky participate in a five-day summer leadership conference hosted at the University of Kentucky or Murray State University. Throughout those five days, up to 45 students are selected to participate in the Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders (IFAL) Program, exposing them to college life, various fields in the agriculture industry and leadership development.

This year, the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment hosted students from across the Commonwealth looking for leadership opportunities and professional development.

Benjamin Williams, current student and college ambassador at Martin-Gatton CAFE, shared how his previous IFAL experience was “life-changing,” impacting his perspective in serving others and respecting the important work on the family farm. Williams also sees this as an opportunity to help inspire more students, like him in pursuing careers in the agriculture industry.

“I saw the countless hours my dad and grandfather put into taking care of the farm ground and animals, but it had never occurred to me at that age how important the work we were doing was,” Williams said. “IFAL and Kentucky Farm Bureau sparked a passion inside of me to serve others. So many doors have opened for me since IFAL and as a college ambassador, I am now able to help other students have life-changing experiences to see the true value of the agriculture industry.”   

IFAL helps students envision a future in higher education. For Garrett Zimmerman, a high school student in Nicholas County, IFAL was an important step in his journey to eventually pursue a degree in agricultural education and advocacy.

“As a prospective student for UK and wanting to go into agriculture education, I wanted to see what UK had to offer,” Zimmerman said. “Throughout IFAL we get to tour a lot of facilities and meet a lot of great people at UK to build those connections before we start college.”  

Wayne Centers, director of student relations at Martin-Gatton CAFE, believes that giving students the best experience to build their leadership skills and foster community helps fulfill IFAL’s mission.

“There are three key mission areas of IFAL—telling the story of Kentucky agriculture in a way that bridges where we have been, where we are and where we are going; the call for leadership; and demonstrating that college is a worthy destination,” Centers said. “For many students, it allows them to see themselves in a college setting.” 

Anna Turlington, current student and college ambassador at Martin-Gatton CAFE, was one of the IFAL counselors this year. For Turlington, IFAL is all about opening the participants’ eyes to more possibilities.  

“I love to see how much the students grow over the five days and build relationships that will last into their college career,” said Turlington, who has participated as an IFAL counselor for the last three years “IFAL has so much to offer and meets these students where they are.” 

Every year, participants and leaders look forward to a fun night of Barnyard Olympics, where they compete in fun games and share their team spirit. UK’s Collegiate Farm Bureau (CFB) had members present at this event to help and share their experiences as members of CFB.  

Student ambassador and CFB member, Leslie Monhollen sheds light on her time at IFAL and role CFB has at IFAL.

“I believe Collegiate Farm Bureau and IFAL work together to show young agriculture leaders possible opportunities and experiences for their skills and passions,” said Leslie Monhollen, UK student ambassador and CFB member. “Agriculture is a large community and IFAL helped me gain perspective on how I fit into the community.” 

UK and KFB’s collaboration is crucial in delivering IFAL’s vision. Their partnership has allowed students to continue reaching their goals and promoting the agriculture industry. 

“When you look at our missions of supporting agriculture on a large-scale, it is not possible without UK and KFB working together,” said Taylor Nash, director of young farmer programs at Kentucky Farm Bureau.

To learn more about our students at Martin-Gatton CAFE, visit https://students.ca.uky.edu.

### 

The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services to individuals and institutions that provide equal opportunities for qualified persons in all aspects of institutional operations and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information or social or economic status.