The Difference Between Learning for a Test and Learning for Knowledge

I took my first Advanced Placement course when I was a junior in High School, the whole time I heard "this will be on the test." The second half of my high school career was learning for the sake of preparing for a test. All I had to do was take in a bunch of information until the beginning of May and then it could all be forgotten at the completion of "the test." Unfortunately, due to this mindset, I looked at college this way as well, only seeming to take in what I thought would be on a test. And I feel as though my classmates are doing the same thing, but then I spent a summer learning for the sake of gaining the knowledge and it opened my mind to a whole new world.

This past summer I had an internship with Cargill Animal Nutrition, as a dairy focused consultant intern. I worked with so many great minds in dairy nutrition that were bound and determined to help me grow as an individual and as a student. Over the summer, I spent so many days learning the ins and outs of the science behind dairy cattle nutrition. There was no test to prepare for, no homework to turn in. The only goal was to learn and understand more of what my future might hold.

Some beautiful cows from this summer indulging in their delicious TMR/breakfast.

As I start my senior year of college, I find myself reading and listening to lectures more closely, and asking questions because I'm curious, not because it is going to be on a test. I now want to go to class because I want more knowledge, not because I want the letter A on my transcript. College is not simply a stepping stone to great things, it is our present, our right now. From now on, I'm going to live in the present and soak up every ounce of that $15,000 a year education.

TBT: California and Finding Independence

Today I got very nostalgic as my second internship for Cargill is now full swing, thinking back to my time spent in California with Cargill last summer. I traveled almost 2,000 miles from all of my family and friends to pursue my dream internship; performing research on hundreds of calves and working with dairy producers to help improve their farms. I ended up meeting the most amazing people and put 9,000 miles on my vehicle, but learned so much as I travelled parts of California, Utah and Idaho.

I always thought that I was an independent person, but I never learned true independence until I had to find my way alone in so many strange cities, including Oakland (because of course I had to visit another Major League Baseball stadium.) I learned to be strong and stand up for my friend at midnight in a sketchy emergency room because they would not listen to us. I learned to take peoples' harsh words (because I was a white girl from the Midwest on their farm) with a grain of salt. But more importantly, I learned that no matter where I go, I want to help dairy farmers more than anything. They are my inspiration and my heroes. I hope that one day I can truly impact all of America's dairy farmers with my promotion or my research.