GET TO KNOW ME
An Agricultural Communicator
Sticking to my roots has always been important to me, and my roots are a girl who grew up on a ranch. I am from the very tip of Texas in a city known as Mission, which is about an hour away from the Mexican border meaning connecting to my heritage is easy as pie. Ever since I was little I would hear stories about my great grandparents working on farms and ranches to support themselves and their families. Knowing the history of my family it has always been a dream of mine to work in the agricultural industry, sticking to my roots. Not only that, but since the 3rd grade, I have been raising livestock to compete with through the FFA organization. Growing up with all these ties to agriculture I found my passion at a young age, which is to be an educated advocate for the industry that I love.
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What Is Bella Interested In?
Finding interests is something I love to do and have so much fun doing them. I would like to describe myself as someone who is free-spirited and loves to say “yes” to everything! I found that being open-minded has allowed me to enjoy all the little things in life and find interests I wouldn’t think that were possible. I am very intrigued with graphic design and photography. Being able to picture something in your head, design it and see it come to life is the most rewarding thing to me. I have made multiple graphics for different organizations and being able to listen to what my audience wants and give them the perfect design makes my heart glow. Photography on the other hand interests me because you can find beauty in simple things. Being able to capture the perfect shot and see a deeper meaning in it is something that I have always been interested in doing. I am a big dreamer and love to look into the future and think of all the “what if’s” in life. I aspire to be the best agricultural communicator that I can be. I want to be educated in all aspects of the agricultural industry and help others learn and become passionate about the same things that I am.
Entering College
For some, choosing a major in college is challenging but I knew right away I wanted to major in Agricultural Communications and Journalism. In high school, I was involved in the FFA program, which I still hold near to my heart. During my time in FFA, I competed in a Leadership Development Event called Public Relations. Our main goal was to advocate our FFA program and educate the public on what we do and how FFA helps form leaders for tomorrow. After doing this competition for three years, I knew that my passion for agriculture narrowed down to be an agricultural communicator.
Important Characteristics and Values
Becoming a well-educated individual has come with learning multiple professional characteristics and values. I would describe myself as a professional by being a welcoming and easy-going individual. I always have a smile on my face which displays a positive attitude that radiates to others around me. My professional values include keeping commitments and working hard no matter how big or small the project may be. Not only are honesty and reliability important values in my everyday life, but also as my professional values.
Consuming News and Maintaining a Stress-Free Life
Since technology is such a priority in everyone's life, my favorite way to consume news is through reliable websites. Now that most news sources have their own apps that I can download on my phone, I stay up to date with global news as well as agricultural industry-related news. I don’t always think about my work life, so having a personal life is very important to me. The way to achieve this for me is by hanging out with my friends as a stress reliever. I love to get coffee with people that are closest to me and just talk about life, be goofy together, and have fun all at the same time. Being with friends is one thing that I enjoy doing, but I also enjoy spending my free time playing around with my dog (Tsuki) and cat (Luna) at home. They bring so much peace and joy to my life.
Past Preparations for Becoming an Agricultural Communicator
Ever since I was in the 3rd grade I have been raising livestock and becoming an FFA member in high school, I continued to educate myself about the agricultural industry that is so essential to us all. The FFA Association has prepared me for my career as an agricultural communicator by training me how to professionally publicly speak and gain leadership skills through FFA officer positions at the chapter, district, and area level. Not only that, sticking to my roots and background in agriculture and growing up on a small farm and ranch has prepared me for my future career. In the future, I want to be able to look back at my career and see the impact I have made on this industry. I want to say that I contributed by teaching younger generations how important this industry is and how everyone is closely related to agriculture whether they know it or not. I hope to educate people on the basic fundamentals of agriculture by becoming a trusted spokesperson for the industry.
