Small Achievement, Big Impact

CAFNR junior Kelin Kruse at Twilight Festival teaching children how to “milk a cow.” The college's organizations taught area families about agriculture.

It is CAFNR Week! After several successful events including Skit Night, Great Grill-Off, and Mud Volleyball, we can all tell that the CAFNR Week ball has started rolling. However, in the heart of CAFNR Week competition, sometimes it is important to step back and observe the real reason for all the week’s events. What is important? Is it winning the Super Farmer Contest? Or having the most attendance the CAFNR Week speaker? The CAFNR Week achievements that are the most important are the small ones that have the greatest impact.

I realized this myself last week at the first event of CAFNR Week—Twilight Festival. As the Agricultural Education Society’s Program Development Chair, one of my duties is to organize the educational activities for the club. Growing up on a dairy farm, I always hold that particular part of agriculture close to my heart. Realizing that many children in the Columbia area do not know much about Missouri’s top industry, I decided I had to come up with a spectacular idea for the Twilight Festival this year.

As I brainstormed educational activities, I decided to make a display of how milk gets from cow to carton. But really that was not enough, so I printed coloring sheets for the kids to take home. Yet, I still was not satisfied. My degree is in Agricultural Education for a reason! I want to educate people, and my ideas for Twilight Festival were lacking in creativity thus far. I did not want the activity to be boring so the Columbia’s kids would not think highly of agriculture. So… finally by the suggestion of my roommate, I added a “milk a cow” simulation with rubber gloves, and I also got chocolate and white milk half-pints donated by Central Dairy to hand out.

Sometimes when I’m stumped like I was with my Twilight Festival idea, I feel like I can never make an impact. Why do I do what I do? Although the milk display at Twilight Festival was a fun activity for all involved, fun is not all I (and all those present) got out of it. It is much more than that—the knowledge that through this minor achievement of mine, I made a small impact on someone who came to Twilight Festival that evening.

That small impact has a rippling effect. It starts small, but hopefully one child I taught about agriculture can pass it on to a friend or two. And they will pass it on to another friend or two. From that one night—which was a small achievement in my book—I know I made a big impact somewhere in the world.

-Charlotte Jackson
Sophomore, Agricultural Education

If you're stumped with your plans for the future, CAFNR Career Services is here to help. Set up an appointment with Stephanie Chipman to discuss the endless opportunities available for CAFNR students!