Finally.. My first blog!!

Well, I've finally gotten around to one of my New Year's Resolutions!  I have always enjoyed reading other people's blogs and figured I should try to do it myself.  Here's a little more about me and where I come from....

I grew up in a small town called Lyle, MN, which is located in southeastern MN.  Throughout my younger years, I always had a passion for 5 things: Family, Friends, Faith, Sports, and Agriculture.  I was lucky enough to have a great family and friends that supported me in anything I did.  I was very involved in sports and many other community activities as a kid and took full advantage of any opportunity thrown in front of me.  As I approached graduation, I always dreamt of becoming a Golden Gopher. My mom went to school there, its a great academic institution, and most important of all... it was home to my favorite sports team (sad, but true). I had never been so excited to leave my small community and explore the big city!

While attending the University of Minnesota, I majored in Agriculture Education, emphasis in Leadership & Communication. I felt this major would give me a general knowledge across many areas of agriculture and more importantly, help me figure out what I wanted to do with my life.  Other than focusing on my academics while at school, I got very involved in FarmHouse Fraternity where I held many different leadership roles.  When I look back at my time in college, some of my biggest learning experiences was seeing what the world was like outside of small-town Lyle, MN. Growing up in a small town helped me understand the importance of a community, but by stepping out of my comfort zone, I was able to see a whole new world of how people do things, different ethnic backgrounds, and different ways of how people living their lives.  When I wasn't exploring the big city, I was spending time with friends and taking in as many Gopher athletic events as I could.

Out of college, I took a full-time position with DuPont Pioneer as an Emerging Leader, Pioneer's entry-level program, in Algona, IA. For all of you that know me, you know of my extreme amount of hate for the Iowa Hawkeyes... How fitting that I now live in the place I couldn't ever imagine being... Ha.  After spending a year in Algona learning the ropes of Seed Corn Production, I had an opportunity to interview for a Production Agronomist role in Renwick, IA (about 35 min SE of Algona) at the soybean production facility.  Fortunately, I was able to get the role and began back in January of 2012.  This job has really allowed me to continue to enhance my agronomic knowledge, work with many growers, and spend time working with others on many different teams. I love my job! Not only is it fun, but its also very challenging, which makes every day a new experience.

Back in March, I moved to Garner, IA (15 miles west of Mason City/Clear Lake, IA.  Its a decent drive every morning to work (40 min), but its a great location and only about 1 hour from home and 2 hours from the twin cities. This makes it very easy to get back home and see my family, attend sporting events, and most importantly, allows me to see my girlfriend often!

Well, thats all for today.  Hopefully some of you will continue to check out my blog as I come up with new things to talk about!

Have a good one and Go Gophers!!