The University of Arkansas Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) club took eight students and one advisor to the National ACT Professional Development Conference (PDC) in Kansas City, Missouri November 12-15.

     Macie Kelly, a senior majoring in agricultural communications, is a member of the University of Arkansas ACT chapter. Kelly has been to PDC before, so she returned as a veteran. PDC was held in conjunction with the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Convention for a second year.

      “It was a really good opportunity to interact with industry professionals, especially because of the new partnership with NAFB,” Kelly said. “It's just always a good situation when you're putting college students in front of industry professionals and having them learn from experiences like that.”

     She said there were several highlights of PDC that enhanced her overall experience. One of those was learning about careers in agricultural communications.

     “As a senior in college about to graduate,” Kelly said, “I was excited to learn about job opportunities that are opening for someone like me who has a passion for the industry.”

     Ashlyn Ussery, a first-year graduate student in Agricultural and Extension Education, attended PDC as well. Ussery graduated from Southern Arkansas University with a bachelor’s in Agribusiness, and this was her first experience with NACT.

     “I really enjoyed the atmosphere and getting to see people from all over the U.S. coming together,” Ussery said.

     Her favorite part was getting to chat with industry professionals.

     “I loved the speed networking,” Ussery said. “I heard about opportunities with companies that represented different parts of agriculture.”

Ussery said all ACT members should consider attending the next conference.

     “Students need to know that agricultural communications is a wide genre of work,” Ussery said. “Conferences like PDC help students learn about different career paths they can take in the industry they love.”