I have many things to update you all on with our project! It is going very well and I'm very happy with the results that we are seeing.
In October, we had a local business owner come and talk to both groups of 7th grade students. Nic Cornelison is from Flat Rock, Alabama, and he owns both a cattle business and a construction business. He talked about how he grew up watching his grandfather raise cattle and how much he enjoyed that time spent with his grandfather, watching him work the cows and take care of that business. Nic ended up helping his grandfather throughout his childhood raise the cattle, but at the age of 18 he stopped doing that and started working in construction. He was very transparent with the students, telling them about how life happens - he got married, started a family and then began working in the construction field full time. Even after working a nice 12 years in that field, with a comfortable leaving, he realized that he missed doing what he loved the most - raising cattle. He currently has over 1,000 cows, some of which the embryos sell for thousands and thousands of dollars all over the world.
He pointed out that whatever you do in life you have to work hard, understand that pitfalls will come, and realized that you need to follow your passions, no matter how hard it is. He talked to the students about what they were interested in and continually reminded them to work hard and find their passions.
This program was important for us to have because we wanted someone who was successful - but not because of college education persay - to come and speak to the students. Both myself and Nikki, the 4-H coordinator helping out, feel it's so important that the students hear from someone who has found a lot of success making really good career decisions not necessarily related to having a 4-year degree.
Our plan is to have Nic talk to all of the classes at the school this year, so everyone will have the chance to hear his story about following your passion, working hard, and finding success.