One of the classic questions when you meet someone at college is to ask their major. My answer generally earns me a few quizzical looks, with good reason. I attend a small Christian liberal arts college, but am studying Agribusiness. The typical responses I get range from, "agri-what?", to "so what do you want to do?", to "I didn't realize we had that here." Then I have to explain that no, Whitworth doesn't have an agriculture program, but I can take business and science classes, and then study abroad to take classes that focus on agriculture.

So why would I study something my school doesn't offer? Wouldn't it be easier to just pick one of the options they already have or transfer to a school that actually has what I want? Simply, I have a passion for agriculture and part of that passion is sharing it with other people. At Whitworth, very few students have had hands-on experiences with agriculture. Each time that I share about my crazy plan to get the classes I need, I have the opportunity to talk about agriculture and along the way I often get to answer questions or clear up misconceptions about farming.

I began at Whitworth when I wasn't sure what I wanted to major in, and I've fallen in love with this college. I recognize that at another university I could be taking classes that are more directly linked to the career I want to pursue, but I also benefit from learning about how these same concepts are linked to other areas of life. In each class, I stretch my understanding of the concepts by thinking about how I can relate what I'm learning to my future, rather than simply having it spelled out in the lecture. The rest of my life I will be able to learn about the advancements in American agriculture through reading farm journals, attending extension office presentations, and going to grower's association meetings. By choosing to study agriculture in another country, I'm exposing myself to a whole new set of ideas and practices.

In the end, education is about stretching our horizons, giving us tools to learn, and enabling us to think critically in a variety of situations. Agriculture is an amazingly diverse field and the skills I learn through each class can be put to use in some manner or another. It may not be a well traveled path, but as long as I get to keep talking about agriculture, it's well worth it.