Boundless Science Season 2: Cultivating Leaders in Agricultural and Life Sciences

In this podcast, Nicole is joined by Jillian Johnston, who shares her experience as a member of the Leadership Institute in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Florida. Jillian reflects on the concepts she learned, such as the Clifton Strengths assessment, which helped her understand her problem-solving abilities and apply them effectively in initiatives like the CALS Leadership Institute Spice Drive. She also shares insights from her study abroad trip to Croatia, highlighting the contrasting agricultural practices and community dynamics her cohort experienced. Overall, Jillian emphasizes LI’s role in fostering personal growth, global awareness, and leadership skills among its members. #boundlessscience #season2

Keywords: Leadership, CALS, strengths, study abroad

#BoundlessScienceseason2

Transcript

Nicole: [00:00:00] Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Streaming Science podcast. Streaming Science is a student drivenprogram that works to connect you with scientists to learn how science impacts all of us and our everyday lives. I'm Nicole Zubowicz, an Agricultural Education and Communication undergraduate student at the University of Florida, and I will be yourhost.

You're currently listening to an episode where we talk with a current College of Agricultural and Life Sciences student in theLeadership Institute. Today we will be focusing on the three-semester long course and all that it entails. In the following interview, I spoke with Jillian Johnston. We talked about her role as a member of the CALS Leadership Institute, Cohort 14. Through this podcast, I hope you gain insight into Jillian's experience with the CALS Leadership Institute and how they are working towards strengthening their [00:01:00] professional and personal skills. During our conversation, we'll explore Jillian's journey As a second-year student at the University of Florida and some of the knowledge she has gained during this process. She will discuss how she has had the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded students and how this opportunity can lead to a more sustainable future in agriculture and the ways to navigate the various ways that leadership can be used. 

Hello and welcome to this week's Streaming Science Podcast. I'm Nikki Zubowicz and I am joined with Jillian Johnson. Jillian is a second-year student at the University of Florida fromOkeechobee, Florida, studying family, youth, and community science on a pre-med track. She is also pursuing a minor in leadership. She is currently an ambassador for the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and a member of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Leadership Institute, Cohort 14. She is a member of Collegiate Farm Bureau Foundation and Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. [00:02:00] She also volunteers at Kids Count, Alachua County. So today we'll be talking about the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Leadership Institute. CALS LI is a three-semester long course that students in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences can enhance their leadership and organizational development. They are also paired with a mentor during this course, have the opportunity to travel abroad, and during the second semester of the course they host a service drive benefiting a non-profit organization locally. Can you summarize Cal's Leadership Institute for me?

Jillian: Yeah, so just speaking from personal experience, the past three semesters have really been eye opening for me, for starters, but if I were to summarize the whole program, I would say that the first semester, you know, you really get to learn a little bit about your personal leadership, your strengths and weaknesses and kind of what you bring to the table in the leadership aspect and then the second semester is really applying that information. So we go from learning our [00:03:00] personal leadership abilities into applying it through a service project which in our case was for a spice drive for the field and fork pantry on campus here at UF. And then the third semester, which is what we are in currently we now learn about community leadership and how those are interconnected in a global manner. That's awesome.

Nicole: Kind of talking about that first semester. What are some of the concepts that you initially learned prior to that service drive?

Jillian: Yeah, so I think one of the most beneficial concepts that we learned in the first semester of LI was definitely the Clifton Strengths. I had the privilege of taking that test prior to the Leadership Institute, but I really didn't understand all that it entailed. So I know that in my top five were characteristics such as restorative, which is wanting to fix something, like really learn how to solve problems. And I knew that was a strength that I had, so coming into the second semester of [00:04:00] CALS LI, I knew that's what I brought to the table. And that's what really, I could take advantage of, take that characteristic and really apply it to the SPICE drive.

Nicole: Awesome. So, kind of backtracking a little. What made you want to apply for the Leadership Institute?

Jillian: So, I originally had not heard of it whatsoever. I didn't know that it was a thing until I started here at the University of Florida. And then I had a couple friends that were in the cohort prior to Cohort 14. And they had really good experiences to share with us. So I knew it was definitely something that I wanted to be a part of and have to really build my sense of personal awareness.

Nicole: Do you feel that applying for the Leadership Institute was kind of a step out of your comfort zone?

Jillian: I had experience in leadership through the future Farmers of America. But not on the collegiate level yet, and I would say that it was a step out of my comfort zone because I didn't [00:05:00] necessarily Know who all was going to apply. It's not like I was surrounded by friends I had known through middle school and high school like I was in FFA So I would say that yes, it was a step out of my comfort zone, but a very A step that was well calculated, I would say, and it, I reaped several benefits from taking that step.

Nicole: That's excellent. So, during that first semester of LI I know that there is a part where you're paired with a Kind of like acareer connection. Do you want to talk about your career connection a little bit?

Jillian: Yeah, so my career Connection her name is Abby Shermer. She was also in the Leadership Institute fun fact So it wasreally cool for us to get connected on that level But she also went through medical school at Florida State, which I know, you know, rivals, but she had great things to say about their medical program. But now she's in her second year of residency at Shands. So it's really cool to see that come full [00:06:00] circle and she was able to give me many pointers about the medical entrance exam and all the points that I needed to hit on my application when that time comes. So I would say that having that career connection is super beneficial and something that is really valuable to me because I know going into any industry really connections are really what what gets you to where you are. So having her and having her as a support system and someone that I can rely on is super crucial to me in life after LI.

Nicole: That's great. So during that first semester, you really touched on, you know, the Clifton top five strengths true colors.What's your color?

Jillian: Yeah, so I am a textbook green which means that I'm super analytical, and I don't necessarily rely on my emotions to make You know judgments. So, you know, that is also a strength and a weakness because I do think sometimes you do need that emotional aspect. But I am definitely agreeing all the way through. I would say if I were [00:07:00] to rank my second one, it would probably gold, which is more organized. I do like to have a planner on me at all times, so that definitely checks out. But for green, I think very logically, I believe that I'm very morally grounded, and I like to stick to what I believe, and it's hard for me to change my mind. So, you know, that can be a benefit and a curse, but yeah, I'm definitely in green.

Nicole: I'm a blue, if you can't tell. Yeah so for blue, I put a lot of emotion into the things that I do. I'm very friendship driven kind of and I would say my second color would be orange, which is more energetic and adventurous. So that's kind of a fun thing. During our first semester, we took the time to understand our true color assessment and then we moved from that to the Gallup top five strengths assessment.

Jillian: But I will say just to touch base on, on the colors, true assessment, it is interesting to see our class breakdown. And you [00:08:00] can really tell, like, who's a green, like, who's a blue. But I think everybody brings something unique to the table. And that really came in handy in the second semester when we were doing our service project because everybody could really analyze the, the goals that we had at hand in a different way, and it really helped us make a very well rounded result.

Nicole: The next thing I want to talk about is our study abroad in Croatia. Absolutely. Can you kind of walk me through, you know, That experience and how some of the stuff that we've learned so far in this class, you've been, you were able to see that in Croatia.

Jillian: Yeah. So fun fact, I did not know Croatia was a thing until the leadership Institute. So that was a whole deal in itself, but I had never been to Europe. I'd been to South America. So that was definitely a step out of my comfort zone because I didn't know what things were going to be like over there. But through that process, you know, we, We're able to have many agricultural industry visits which I say were extremely different in terms of [00:09:00] regulations and the way that they produce and the way that they prioritize their goals in Croatia as opposed to the United States. I grew up on a dairy farm and I know that they're extremely heavily, heavily regulated and what they can do, their water intake and the pasteurization of the milk, things like that. And that's just not something that's really discussed in Croatia or they have a different way to go about those methods. So I think that in itself was really interesting for me. But aside from the agricultural visits, it was just interesting to see the culture of and how much they embrace the collectivist culture. I think in America, you know, we're founded on the American dream. You come here and, and you make your dreams happen. And they do have that to some degree. But they really do depend on each other in terms of community and community leadership, which is cool because that's what we talked about in semester three after our study abroad. So that was one other thing that I really took away from Croatia, just understanding the importance of [00:10:00] community and knowing that you have a support system to rely on if things go awry.

Nicole: So we're going to go into talking now about, you know, the second semester after Croatia when you did the service drive. Can you tell me a little bit about that service drive?

Jillian: So the main objective for the service drive was to collect spices, which can sometimes be, it's not at the forefront of everyone's mind when they're thinking about donating to a food drive, or to an organization such as the Field and Fork Pantry. So that's something that we thought that would be a little bit different than just doing a food drive or a canned drive. And it is something that students need on campus. The Field and Fork Pantry is utilized by students and faculty really to make sure that they meet the nutritional needs that they require on a daily basis. So what our idea was is to collect spices, which had been done by a cohort previous to us and also add a component of a [00:11:00] cookbook or provide students recipes that they may be able to carry out in a, in a simple manner in their apartments or dorms, whatever they may choose. So that was really the main objective of our service project.And I believe that we were pretty successful in what we did. I can't remember the exact amount of spices that we had collected at the end of the drive, but I know that it was a significant amount and that Field and Fort Pantry was very grateful for the efforts that we had put forth. So I would say that overall, it was a great experience for us. I felt very fulfilled knowing that we were helping out a population on campus that, that needs that help and is also here to you know, get their education or help students receive their education. So I think it is very beneficial to to help those people that are, are in those positions. So, and it was 750 spices that our goal

Nicole: was,

Jillian: right? Yes. Yeah. That was our goal. 750, which I believe we may have surpassed. I

Nicole: think we did. Yeah. So I

Jillian: think we were probably closer to 800, which is very, very [00:12:00] good. I think, I think we raised the bar for the next cohorts to come if they choose to do that service project.

Nicole: Oh yeah, for sure. So can you tell me a little bit about that process from, you know, what you learned in the first semester kind of carried into, you know, semester two where you. of putting this whole thing together.

Jillian: Yeah, I had the privilege of taking the groups and teams class during my freshman year, the fall of my freshman year. So that would be fall of 22. And that whole process of going through a group exercise or a group, goal and moving through those stages of the the group itself. So I believe that as a cohort, as 17 individuals put together in the Leadership Institute, we definitely saw bits of all of those stages. I do recall in the beginning when we were trying to storm and figure out what we were going to do. I, I know that that was a big issue because there were some good ideas thrown out there, you know, and you don't want to give [00:13:00] anybody a feeling as though they're not being heard. So, I think at the end of the day though, we were able to incorporate elements into the SPICE drive that gave everybody a little bit of what they were looking for through the process. But we definitely experienced the, the storming and then the norming when you have to, you know, create guidelines as to. When assignments are going to be done, what tasks we're going to give out to each individual within the group to make sure that we're reaching our common goal. I believe that that took a little bit of time as well. And we definitely saw the brunt of that stage as we were trying to figure out exactly how we were going to delegate our work. And then, you know, we move into the performing stage and just making sure everything is put together in a, in a neat manner for the ultimate process of carrying out the SPICE drive itself as well as presenting the information back to our panel of judges that we had to at the end of the semester. So I do believe that we saw all stages of that process within the service drive and semester [00:14:00] two.

Nicole: I would totally agree with that. I also think one of the most influential parts of that whole thing for me personally was probably the storming stage. Yeah. You know when it feels like you're almost getting nothing done but you're at the same time. You're getting a lot of stuff done.

Jillian: Yeah,

Nicole: and there's different approaches that people take and I think that I personally gained a lot of information and knowledge from just being able to work past, you know differences and different approaches and realizing that We're all working

Jillian: towards the same outcome, right? And you know one thing I remember specifically from dr Greenhouse class as well as dr. Kors is knowing how to manage conflict when a conflict is going to happen. I don't necessarily believe in avoiding all conflict. I think it's beneficial and necessary at times. But just learning how to take the situation at hand and see it from all angles and come up with a compromise. That's really going to benefit all parties in some way. So, I think that was definitely something as a class that we had [00:15:00] to learn and you know for better or for worse We learned it By the end of the semester, but no, I think storming is very necessary and conflict is very necessary You just need to know how to go about it,

Nicole: right? And I think that also kind of to wrap this up for semester two I think it's super important because we're able to take that experience and put it towards our future, whether that's furthering our education or working in our career of choice after we graduate. So I'm very thankful for that opportunity. So and we did reach our goal, we reached our goal and, you know, at the end of the day, all of the spices that were raised went towards, you know, feeding the UF community, which at the end of the day, in my opinion, I'm super thankful that we did that and we were able to really impact that community and I hope that it continues on for years to come. So we're going to break into this current semester, semester three, which is more surrounded around, community and [00:16:00] cultural leadership and life after the Leadership Institute. So, do you want to kind of tell me how that experience has been foryou?

Jillian: Yeah, so I feel like the defining moment in this semester thus far was when Mr. Ryan Perez came into our class and did a guest lecture on his involvement in community leadership. I think that really kicked off the whole idea of community leadership for us as a whole. So I would say that was definitely like my defining moment thus far, because I remember him, you know, explicitly talking about some situations that were kind of uncomfortable for him that he had to overcome. And as we talked about learn how to conflict manage because I know that community leadership can offer up its own. issues because usually, you know, coming from a small town like Okeechobee, everybody knows everybody. So, you need to learn how to navigate those issues in a way that will make everybody happy somewhat and in a way that will benefit the community in the long term. So it's definitely one of my biggest Takeaways in this [00:17:00] semester and it has also been interesting the way that we have taken community leadership and then tied it into global leadership. So, we're really seeing how those communities on the smaller level kind of are interconnected and lead to what we know as global leadership as and within the leadership development minor, minor.

Nicole: Right. Yeah. So, to talk a little bit more about this semester, I know that during semester one, you met with your career connection. Is your career connection the same person for this semester? Yes. Yes, it is. For an LI alumni? Yeah, Abby Schremer. That's awesome.

Jillian: Yes. So yeah, like I said before, she's been extremely helpful and has definitely calmed some of my nerves. And in terms of what my professional. plans are. She kind of gave me the confidence that I needed to continue in this journey. So yeah, just to reiterate, I probably the career connection and the CALS alumni connection has been one of the most pivotal moments throughout the entire program. And I'm, and I'm super happy that I was able to experience that.

Nicole: Yeah,

Jillian: that's [00:18:00] super helpful.

Nicole: It really put it into perspective when I was able to talk to my LI alumni connection and, you know, I, She's now at Auburn University pursuing her master's. So it's just really cool to see how there's what we're cohort 14. There's now a 15th cohort.

Jillian: Yes.

Nicole: And how Dr. Coers said today there's 150 alumni of this institute. And I think that's really amazing because there's so many people who are being taught and educated on these subjects. And I think it only betters us. It gives us an opportunity. Talk to people about the experiences that we've gone through. But not only that, but I was talking to my connection, and she said, oh, well, when you're in an interview, you're able to talk about this experience. You have learned about your own self, your, your own leadership journey. You not only can talk about that, but you also can talk about the fact that you traveled abroad with 17 other people. [00:19:00] And then on top of that, you did a service drive with them. from start to finish, and then you presented it to a bunch of people. You experienced conflict management, all those things, not only that, but then you tied it all up with learning about global leadership and how you can apply that to life after college. And I, to me, I that just put it all into perspective because I was able to visualize it and see that, wow, this thing that I applied for three semesters ago is. Helping shape me into the person that I'm becoming and the person that I want to become. And I'm, I feel like I've been able to reflect on myself personally and just see how much growth I've gone through because I took, I applied for this cohort not really knowing what to expect. And so, I think one of the weirdest things was walking into that class and being like, Oh my gosh, I know you. Or like, Oh, we follow each other on Instagram or stuff like that. And then realizing that, Oh my gosh, they just put [00:20:00] 17 leaders into one room. And we're all supposed to figure that out. And so, I mean, throughout the whole experience, we're able to truly grow. And I feel like I've become a much more understanding person. And I'm very thankful for that. Yes,

Jillian: no, I would have to agree on all fronts of that. I think when I started my LI journey, I, I wouldn't say I was closed minded, but I was really set in my ways and, you know, I, I wasn't really open to a lot of things. I had a hard time communicating. Like I would have not agreed to this podcast at the beginning of my LI journey. So now I feel like I'm much more open to other experiences being abroad, going to Europe, going to Croatia and experiencing all these new places and things and foods really just showed me what all is out there. And, you know, it's out there for me to see, you know, I can, I can see it if I want to, if I, If I make the steps and I make the plan, then that's there for me to experience. [00:21:00] So I'm really trying to build up my portfolio in that aspect and, and get to know the world around me and, and, and use it to my advantage because, I mean, everywhere you go, you meet people with different perspectives and that can really play a part in the way that you make decisions. From here on out. So I, I couldn't be more thankful for this program. I think Dr. Coors has done an excellent job with leading us through this entire process. And I'm super thankful for my cohort members.

Nicole: I definitely agree with that. What would you say to a student who's thinking about applying for this leadership Institute?

Jillian: I would tell them that LI is a great way to get your feet on the ground at UF. I know it can be very challenging to comehere. UF is a big school. There's 60, 000 people here. And it can be very overwhelming to a freshman or sophomore that really hasn't got the opportunity to meet a lot of people. And I would say that LI is a great way to become connected with, you know, anywhere between 13 to 17 [00:22:00] individuals. And really make those connections and get yourself out of your bubble. Because I know, as I said, I was very, very okay and ready to take on the world in my own little bubble, but I know that that's not going to last forever. So LI is a great way. To have a study abroad experience, to have three semesters of learning about yourself and how you operate best around others. And I think it's really important to take advantage of these opportunities while you can, but because you won't always have these so it's important to get involved while you can.

Nicole: Right. Well, I think that's awesome. Now, when talking about the future of agriculture and the importance of building strong leaders, how would you say that Li prepares you for your future, but also for the people who are focusing on these agricultural majors?

Jillian: I think for me, I have experienced both worlds. I've seen the agriculture, agricultural world, [00:23:00] and we got to experience a little bit of that in Croatia, but also just here in Florida. I mean, we produce over 300 commodities. I would say that people like us that have been able to see the agricultural industry as well as have access to this leadership information are really the pioneers of a new generation. because we can speak from both aspects and we know the needs of the farming community. And it's up to us to communicate that to legislatures or the general public that aren't exposed to agriculture on a daily basis. So I think we have a critical role here and we need to take advantage of that because nobody else is going to do that. So I think that it's really important that we communicate what we know based off of the leadership information that we have gathered from programs such as And the industry tours and the exposure that we've had to agriculture and really make something out of it because it's up to us to, to keep agriculture going within the United States. [00:24:00] So,

Nicole: and creating strong leaders. Yes. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. I truly appreciate you taking the time out of your day. And I hope that everyone listening understands how awesome this. opportunity within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is to students and how it sets us up for success.

Jillian: Absolutely.

Nicole: Thank you for listening to the Streaming Science Podcast. Make sure you check out our website and social media for more. I'm your host, Nicole Zubowicz. Thanks for listening. And if you're interested in finding more information, please visit the links in our show notes.