Northwestern College’s own Natalie Te Grootenhuis, serves as a member and a NW representative for the Iowa Collegiate Corn Advisory team. The team is made up of 21 different students from 15 different colleges across the state of Iowa. All of those students are pursuing various agriculture and business degrees. The team discusses different problems that arise in agricultural vocations and gives the students an opportunity to learn skills that they need to potentially become leaders in the industry.
Te Grootenhuis first heard about the team when her father got involved with it five
years ago.
“He serves as a district leader along with being on a state committee, so my family has been actively involved in Iowa Corn for a long time,” Te Grootenhuis said.
Part of being a team member requires the students to attend different meetings centered around, but not limited to corn.
“We have three state meetings throughout the year. These are normally two day meetings in Johnston, Iowa, at the Iowa Corn office,” Te Grootenhuis said. “We have two work meetings and one team building meeting.”
In both of the work meetings, the team makes decisions on their budget for the year and what college agriculture grant they are going to support. The students participating get the opportunity to meet with and learn from some of the leaders of the industry, as well as attend district meetings that will teach them more about how the business works.
Te Grootenhuis thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learned from it. Her favorite part of being a team member was simply getting to know her fellow board members.
“I really enjoyed getting to know the other members of the team,” Te Grootenhuis said. “It was great to get to know someone who shares the same passion for agriculture and the future of the industry.”
Being a part of the team inspired her in her future endeavors in the industry and brought her confidence. She hopes to work in a marketing department for an agricultural business after she graduates and she really believes the program helped her see where she fits.
“I believe being a part of the Corn Advisory Team has helped me see how I can be a voice for the industry and what it looks like to be a young leader in the agriculture world,” Te Grootenhuis said.
