One of the highlights of the National FFA Convention & Expo is the opportunity for students to visit with representatives from more than 300 colleges and ag businesses. It was during a visit four years ago to the event that led one student from Nipomo, California to Purdue’s campus in West Lafayette, Indiana—which is nearly 2,220 miles apart.
“Every year, I look forward to this opportunity to talk to students that were in a place that I was four years ago,” says Kayla Zalesny, a senior at Purdue majoring in Ag Business Marketing.
Four years ago, she was a state officer with California FFA and was considering staying on the West Coast to attend college.
“I was heavily involved in my FFA program at Nipomo FFA,” Kayla says. “I remember as it was getting time to start thinking of colleges, that I was dead set about going to Cal Poly—the college that was pretty close to where I was from. My ag teacher kept on saying, ‘Look into Purdue. There’s no one from Nipomo who has gone to Purdue yet. Just look into it,’ and I just kept on shrugging her off.”
Kayla says after trip to Indianapolis to attend the National FFA Convention & Expo, she changed her mind.
“Fast forward to my senior year in high school and [my ag teacher and I] are here at the convention. We happen to run across the Purdue University College of Agriculture booth and she said, ‘Just go talk to them and have a conversation.’ It really was within that ten-minute conversation that I changed my mind and I ended up applying that next day,” says Kayla.
“I’m super grateful for FFA and this National Convention and Expo because it really does give an opportunity for students to discover and maybe see a passion that they didn’t know they had—or maybe see a school that they didn’t ever think about before coming here,” she adds.
Now, Kayla serves as a Purdue Ambassador representing the College of Agriculture. She graduates next May with a job already lined up with Corteva Agriscience.
“The biggest thing that I like to tell others about the Purdue College of Ag is it is like a small, tight-knit family,” says Kayla. “Coming from out of state, you may not know anyone before you come to Purdue and set foot on campus. But your advisors immediately are putting you in the right classes and making you feel at home.”
“I also like to say college is an opportunity to get outside of your bubble, meet new people, and make new connections. I truly believe that I wouldn’t have the job that I just got, the opportunities, and the people that I’ve met these past four years if I wouldn’t have ventured outside of my little hometown bubble.”
For more information about the Purdue University College of Agriculture, visit ag.purdue.edu.
McDonald’s of Indiana is proud to sponsor Hoosier Ag Today’s coverage of the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo! McDonald’s salutes the next generation of great farmers who will continue to supply the world-class ingredients served to millions under the Golden Arches!
