OSU Agriculture Exploring Program opens Seneca East high schooler's eyes to future career field

Life can take us on an adventurous journey, sometimes not giving us a sign of the direction we are to take as we travel through it.   Many experience things without signs, and sometimes cause them to take a different direction.  Seneca East High schooler Zach Allgyre’s journey was just that. 

The Exploring program offers high school students the opportunity to experience a vocation, while gaining hands on experience.  This creates an opportunity to jump start their search for their future career field, when so much is still uncertain in their lives. Zach’s journey is an example of why the Exploring program plays an important role in young adults’ journeys.

Zach comes from a third-generation family farm where his grandfather started farming on their 1,200 acres of land. They started with a focus on livestock and have since shifted to specialize in corn and beans.  Though Zach had come up in the farming environment he never thought he would pursue it as a career in the future.  His cousin Douglas Rear sparked his interest in farming, as he helped him get involved with FFA and being apart of the FFA Poultry team. 

His involvement with FFA led him to the OSU Extension Agriculture Exploring program.  The Exploring program exposed him to more of the agriculture world and opened his eyes to farming being a future career field for himself.  Zach has found himself as a fixture helping with the family farm.  One of his favorite parts of farming is working the grounds with their tractor.

During one of the Exploring meetings he was given the opportunity to tour Terra State University, where he discovered their Agriculture business degree program. They were able to sit in on a class and learned which classes were required to compete an Agriculture degree.

When Zach is not farming, he keeps himself involved with many extra curriculars.  He is apart of the pep club where he plays the snare drum in the Seneca East band.  He is currently a third-year Spanish student and is a member of the SAD club. He is also a member of the National Honor Society, and in his down time when he can find it enjoys listening to country music.  Alan Jackson and Scotty McCurry are some artist he listens to help unwind form long days.

Zach says Hallie Williams the head of the OSU Extension Agriculture program has been an incredible mentor. “I’ve learned so much from the group and really appreciate her time of showing us all the opportunities within agriculture”. 

The Exploring program truly took Zach on a different path than he had mapped out for himself originally, but it opened his eyes to a future career field.  Once Zach graduates’ high school he plans to attend Terra State and dive right into their 2-year Agriculture business degree.

For more information on joining OSU Agriculture Post or other Exploring opportunities please click the link