The National Professional Agricultural Student (PAS) Organization’s 2022 National Conference, themed “READY. SET. GROW”, was held in Bloomington, Minnesota on March 16-19. The conference kicked off Wednesday evening with an opening session, followed by a week of individual and team competitions. The event ended on Saturday morning with College Bowl finals, an award ceremony, and the election of a new slate of National Officers from student members of the organization. Throughout the conference, students were able to join workshop sessions, network with industry representatives, and create connections with other PAS members across the country. Congratulations to all those who competed and placed at the National Professional Agricultural Student Organization’s 2022 National Conference. Also during the conference, the 2021-2022 National PAS Officer Team awarded two advisors with the Outstanding Advisor Award for 2021-2022. These award recipients are Kevin Butt, Ellsworth Community College, Iowa, and Doug Lind, Ridgewater College, Minnesota. Congratulations to both for going above and beyond for their
students. Now to introduce the 2022-2023 National Professional Agricultural Student Organization National Officers!
President, Bryce Thompson: Having come from a non-agriculture background, Bryce Thompson, of Buffalo Minnesota quickly found his place in agriculture when he joined his FFA chapter in high school and took a job at an Apple Orchard. In FFA he competed in Agriculture Issues, Employment Skills, and Market Plan. FFA gave him opportunities to grow as a leader. Bryce attended Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minnesota where he studied Agricultural Business and double majored in Precision Agriculture. He has been heavily involved in PAS since his start in the fall of 2019. He has held two positions on Ridgewater's Officer Team, was a Minnesota PAS Vice President, and just finished serving one year as a National PAS Vice President in 2021-2022. Bryce currently works for Trueman Welters Inc. in Buffalo, Minnesota, a Case IH and New Holland Dealership. He hopes that his time in PAS can create opportunities for students and industry to grow their knowledge about the opportunities PAS has to offer.
Secretary, Abigail Armstrong: Abigail is from upstate New York right on the Vermont border. While she doesn’t come from a farm family, she quickly developed a passion for agriculture at a young age. Abigail currently owns both beef and dairy cows. When she aged out of 4-H, Abigail became a 4-H leader to work with and engage youth. Based on her experiences, she is motivated to teach youth about the role that agriculture plays in everyone’s daily lives. Abigail graduated from The State University of New York (SUNY) at Cobleskill in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Technology in Food Systems, an Associate of Applied Science in Agricultural Business, and an Agricultural Education Minor. During her time at SUNY Cobleskill, she served as President of both PAS and Collegiate Farm Bureau as well as the Chair of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) team. She was also an active member of the Ag Business Club, Student Government Association, and the Honors Program. Abigail is a current graduate student at Delaware Valley University working towards a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Food and Agribusiness. She is on track to begin a Ph.D. program in the Fall and is anticipating starting a career as an agricultural professor upon obtaining her doctorate. Abigail is serving her second year as the National PAS Secretary and is excited to work with the organization to further develop the National PAS Newsletter and create opportunities for students to further their careers in the agricultural industry.
Vice President, Jenna Steffen: Jenna is currently a senior at Iowa State University where she is majoring in Agricultural Education; Teacher Certification. During high school, Jenna was extremely involved in FFA, 4-H, and Youth County Council in Bremer County where she had the opportunity to gain agricultural knowledge in many fields. After high school, she attended DMACC on the Mark Pearson Scholarship and majored in Agribusiness with certificates in Animal Science and Agronomy. Jenna was involved in PAS at DMACC and was elected Secretary for Iowa PAS in 2020-2021. This past year, Jenna served as a PAS National Vice President and the Iowa PAS State President. She currently works at the Chickasaw County Extension Office in New Hampton as a Youth Outreach Coordinator. Jenna and her family live on an acreage just outside of Waverly, IA, where they raise beef cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits, poultry, and a few farm dogs and cats. I am very excited to see where PAS will continue to take me as I serve this year!
Vice President, Kirstin Schaefer: Kirstin Schaefer has been involved in agriculture for most of her life. She grew up in Eastern Iowa where her presence was well-known within 4-H, FFA, Zion Lutheran Church, and the Pony of the Americas (POA) national and state club. After 17 years of showing POAs, Kirstin finished her youth career in November of 2021. After graduation, Kirstin moved to Fort Dodge, Iowa to pursue a double degree in Agriculture Business, and Business. While attending Iowa Central Community College, she was involved with the Professional Agriculture Student (PAS) Club. In her freshman year, she ran for chapter office and was elected Vice President of the Finance Committee. Later that year, Kirstin decided to run for State Office. In 2021, she was elected as Iowa PAS Vice President with a focus on the Social Media part of the organization. During her sophomore year, she was involved in Phi Theta Kappa serving as President for Iowa Central Community College, Iowa Corn Collegiate Advisory Team (CAT), and PAS. With her time on the Collegiate Advisory Team, she expanded her network of peers by meeting different people from multiple colleges. This presented her with the opportunity to learn about different aspects of agriculture from a diversified collection of individuals and groups. As far as PAS during her sophomore year, she chose to run for State Officer again and was elected as Vice President. With the new position of National Vice President, Kirstin looks forward to meeting the members, advisors, and mentors of the National Organization and helping them build their leadership skills.
Vice President, Makayla Breth: Makayla Breth is from the small town of St. Anthony, MN. She is in her second year at Ridgewater College in Willmar, MN. Makayla plans to graduate in the spring with two degrees: Precision Agriculture AAS and Agriculture Business AAS. She has lived on her family's dairy farm for her whole life, where she has been helping ever since she can remember. Being outside with the cattle in the mornings or driving tractors in the field are her favorite places to be on the farm. Makayla is always up to a new task and says she is not afraid of a challenge. Makayla’s passion for agriculture - especially dairy - inspired her to run and become a Stearns County Dairy Princess for four years now. Volunteering for her parish's breakfasts and dinners have always been events she looks forward to. Giving time means a lot to Makayla so when she had the opportunity to go on a Mission Trip to the Cass Lake Native American Reservation with the youth group, she did not let it slip away. This past September, Makayla also started teaching the Children's Liturgy of the Word at the St. Anthony Parish. Makayla is looking forward to a great year ahead as a National PAS Vice President!
Vice President, Ryan Williams: Ryan Williams was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and around seven years old he moved to Brantwood, Wisconsin. Ryan got his start in agriculture when he was ten, helping his neighbor on their dairy farm located in Brantwood. He quickly fell in love with agriculture while working with the animals. After four years of working there, he ended up leaving the farm but still had a desire to work with animals. After working in non-agricultural industries, Ryan realized that agriculture was his true passion. Since starting classes at Northcentral Technical College upon joining PAS, he has since found a passion for the organization and an even stronger passion for the industry of agriculture. Today, Ryan is currently a second-year student at Northcentral Technical College, studying dairy science and crop science. Along with being a full-time student Ryan also currently works at the school’s dairy farm and advocates for the sustainability of agriculture. In his free time, Ryan enjoys hunting, fishing, camping, downhill skiing, and mountain biking. As well as spending time with friends and family, he enjoys working with his Chocolate Lab, Maggie on sharpening her bird hunting skills. In the future, he plans to become an Agronomist, and also hopes to have his own herd of beef cattle to sell to his family.
Vice President, Trinity Dyreson: Trinity Dyreson grew up working on her family’s beef farm in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. Trinity enjoys working with her family and helping her family farm thrive. At a young age, Trinity developed a love for agriculture and horses. In high school, Trinity was in FFA for 4 years and was an FFA officer for 3 years serving as her chapter’s reporter, secretary, and vice president. Trinity is now part of her local FFA chapters alumni and is one of the directors of the Mount Horeb FFA Alumni. Trinity is attending Blackhawk Technical College and is in their Agribusiness Science and Technology program. She is currently the reporter for the Blackhawk Technical College PAS Club. She is also currently serving as the 2021-2022 Wisconsin State PAS Vice President. She also loves spending time with her family and traveling across the United States. Trinity has always had a passion for horses and barrel racing since she was a little girl and has been involved in the National Barrel Horse Association and Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association for the past 6 years, competing at shows all over the United States from Minnesota to Georgia. In 2018, she started her own business called Next Generation Performance Horses, where she trains horses and teaches riding lessons to people. Right now, she is growing her business and building her team of performance horses for her to compete on in the coming years. She looks forward to meeting the members of this organization and helping them build their leadership skills as a National PAS Officer.
National PAS is a non-profit, student-led organization offering a national collegiate-level competition-style learning model that gives students the practical and hands-on development opportunities essential for career success. Students compete at the local, state, and national levels and are guided by faculty advisors to develop the leadership, technical, professional, and soft skills required for career success within the agriculture industry. Learn more at www.nationalpas.org.