This past week I have been trying to figure out what to write for my blog post here on the Ag Ambassadors site. I knew that I would write about something related to the College of Ag and Natural Resources and try to make it relatable to my fellow students, maybe giving advice or just expressing something that had been on my mind lately. I figured that giving advice was probably not the best route, as I’m only a sophomore and am constantly asking for or receiving advice from older friends, club advisors, professors, and advisors. While trying to figure out what to write, my mind kept going back to the amazing trip I took with the Pre-Veterinary club to tour the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. One of the most prominent memories I had from the trip, besides all the amazing things I got to see, was what one of the vet students said while we ate lunch with them. “We’re like a big family here, if someone falls, we all come together to pick them up”. I can’t help but feel as if the same thing could be said of the University of Wyoming in general, but it is particularly relevant here in the College of Ag. Coincidentally, one of the recruiters from WSU mentioned how well students from UW do at their vet school. This could be for a multitude of reasons, but one that cannot be denied is that people that come from the College of Ag here already know how to treat their classmates like family. It is a trademark of not only our little piece of the world, but also the Agriculture industry in general to treat others this way. Though there may be family squabbles (organic vs conventional, grain-fed vs grass-fed, to name a few), in the end the few of us in this country that are involved in agriculture come together for the betterment of products and practices, and will always come to each other’s aid. Perhaps this is why students from the College of Ag do so well after graduation, they already have the mindset it takes to succeed in the outside “real” world of agriculture. UW Alumni have the skills to work with others, not tear others down on the way to their goals, and will always stop to help someone up when they are in need. My personal experience with this college being a family comes from 30+ hours in a Ford explorer with the Pre-Vet club, getting class, scheduling, or general life advice from older students, alums taking time out of their day to meet with current students for tours without batting an eye, and some pretty awesome Poke Pride while driving through Boise, ID, listening to our boys get a safety to win the game. I hope that you all have, or will have, similar experiences that make you feel like you have a family here in Laramie. If there has been one thing that I have learned here, it is that the door is always open and that there will always be a friendly face on the other side!
-Emily Violini
