Quentin Carlyle knew he was going to get what he calls the “best of both worlds” when he came to the University of Missouri. Carlyle wanted the big college experience, as well as a faculty and staff who knew his name.
He found that within the agricultural education degree program in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR).
“I loved that the faculty and staff knew who I was and were invested in my success,” Carlyle said. “I have been able to pop in at any time and talk with my professors about a class or life in general. It’s also hard to beat the big university ‘movie moment’ experiences. The Mizzou traditions are second to none, and I’m so glad I have been able to participate in them.”
Carlyle, who is graduating in December, chose the agricultural education degree program in CAFNR after a positive experience in his East Prairie High School agriculture program. While Carlyle didn’t grow up on a farm, he was very active in his school’s FFA program and developed a passion for agriculture through the numerous activities.
“I knew that agricultural education was going to be for me,” Carlyle said. “Growing up in a rural town, I was able to see the value of agriculture and the importance of educating individuals on where their food comes from.”
That passion has grown while Carlyle has studied at Mizzou. Carlyle was part of CAFNR True Tigers, Collegiate Farm Bureau and the Agricultural Education Society during his time on campus, as well as working as a student grader within DASS. Carlyle also interned with Vivayic this year, a company that specializes in designing effective learning and knowledge transfer experiences.
“I’ve really fallen in love with this type of work,” Carlyle said. “Developing curriculum and putting together learning solution designs for different clients has been really interesting. It’s definitely a field that I’ve gained a lot of interest in, and I hope to participate in a similar field in the future.”
Before Carlyle jumps into the workforce, he plans to attend graduate school, staying within the Division of Applied Social Sciences (DASS) at MU.
“I’m really pumped for this opportunity,” Carlyle said. “It’s going to be a nice change of pace, and I’ll be able to continue to work with the majority of the faculty within the department.
“When I first started college, I didn’t see graduate school on the horizon. As I got going, though, it started to make more and more sense.”
Carlyle said learning from the DASS faculty was one of the highlights of his time at Mizzou – and the opportunity to continue that work is exciting.
“What I really appreciate about the faculty is that they have their own career experiences,” he said. “They’ve been ag teachers or served as state leaders. They bring real-world insights and see the value of sharing those experiences with their students. They take care of you and really push you to get most out of your education.”
Carlyle added that he really appreciated the division’s focus preparing students for the future.
“I put together a graduation plan really early on, which was vital for my success,” Carlyle said. “The faculty and staff had me thinking about potential internships and extracurricular opportunities. I was also able to jump into potential career experiences before I got deep into my degree. For example, I originally thought I wanted to get into teaching. However, I found out pretty early that I didn’t want to go that route. It was important that I learned that as a first-semester sophomore instead of a second-semester senior.
“My time here has been really great, and I’m thankful for every minute of it. I’m appreciative of everyone who helped me during this journey.”