Fall is the time for college students to advocate for agriculture. Now in it’s 7th consecutive year the Animal Agriculture Alliance is offering a College Aggies Online Scholarhip Program (CAO) for students with a passion for ag. The program is designed to create confident, positive and proactive communicators for the industry. The program moves forward each year to address new challenges and emerging social media platforms.
“Engaging with diverse audiences is critical to bridging the communication gap between farm and fork,” said Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith. “We’re excited to offer this opportunity for students to develop the skills necessary to help their peers better understand modern animal agriculture. With new challenges and mentors, this year’s CAO competition is shaping up to be the best one yet.”
The nine-week competitive program will prepare students to become lifelong advocates of the agriculture industry. In addition to gaining valuable skills, the top three clubs and individuals will receive scholarships. The top three individuals will earn $2,500, $1,000 and $500 in scholarship awards, respectively. The top three clubs will be awarded $5,000, $2,500 and $1,000 prizes. The top three individuals and a representative from each of the top clubs will also receive an all expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the Animal Agriculture Alliance annual Stakeholder’s Summit. Mini-scholarships and monetary prizes will be awarded throughout the program for certain assignments and contests.
Participants are assigned weekly tasks, ranging from writing a blog post, creating an info graphic, and attending webinars. Points are earned by posting content that promotes and explains agriculture. Students will be mentored by a panel of industry experts and influential bloggers. The mentors serve as a recourse to help students develop a personal brand and produce effective content. Students then test their skills in discussions about hot topics in ag today.
In 2014, approximately 1,300 students from more than 58 universities participated in CAO. The Alliance hopes to increase participation even further this year by developing a CAO Ambassadors program. A representative from each college and university can sign up to be a 2015 Ambassador. Ambassadors promote the College Aggies program on their campus and recruit individuals and clubs. The representative that recruits the most people will receive $500.