Morgan Slaven, 20 and Austin Larrowe, 19, are pictured delivering pumpkins to the White House for President Obama’s Halloween celebrations this past October. Not a typical college student activity by any means. Wherever life seems to take them, and for Austin that has been five of the seven continents, they don’t seem to miss a beat. Upon graduating from high school in 2009, they both served as state officers for Future Farmers of America (FFA). After a year of traveling all over the state, as well as to China, Morgan and Austin came to Virginia Tech. Only a semester into college, they have established themselves as overachievers academically, through campus involvement, and by starting a brand new international organization called Feed By Seed. On top of all that, they have been happily dating for nine months! We can all learn something from these busy bees, who carry themselves with humility and lead lives of service.
Her Campus Virginia Tech: What has your involvement with FFA done for you?
Austin Larrowe: I remember when I first joined FFA. I was “that kid” with the weird jokes. I was not a fan of public speaking. Service wasn’t my main priority and agriculture wasn’t really in my sights either. I talked to my agriculture teacher on the first day of class and he said I could drop the class if I wanted since I wasn’t giving it a chance. Then I decided to give it a shot. From that point on, FFA has made me into a much better person. From the middle school, high school, state officer, and now collegiate levels, I have acquired the skills and tools to do what I’m doing with Feed by Seed.
Morgan Slaven: The resources and leadership training help us find out who we are as individuals and use our strengths to discover how we can contribute to something greater than ourselves. Instead of taking the typical route, as state officers we got a little taste of the real world and were able to reflect on and analyze who we really are. That is what has affected me. Service leadership is a big deal. All in all, for as much as you put into it, you get at least that much out of it.
HCVT: How did you two meet?
AL: We met at FFA state officer interview training in Blacksburg on my birthday, June 16th. Throughout our year of service, we became really good friends, but state officers cannot date other officers or members of FFA.
MS: Five days after we finished as officers, Austin called me and said, “I’ve had feelings for you for a really, really long time.” I was a little skeptical because it was so soon after we got our freedom back, but everything worked out.
HCVT: What are you studying at Virginia Tech?
AL: I’m studying agricultural science with an emphasis in agricultural economics and international agriculture and a minor in leadership and social change.
MS: I’m an agricultural science major with a focus in animal and poultry sciences and a minor in leadership and social change.
HCVT: What is Feed by Seed?
AL: It’s an international agricultural education and development organization. Our first project will be July 30th – August 13th in Somotillo, Nicaragua. We’ll be attacking world hunger and food insecurity through immediate food aid to deprived areas, youth agricultural education AND long term agricultural development. We are starting in Nicaragua but won’t be limiting ourselves to there. We hope to have many open projects across the world eventually.
MS: Our most important goal is making an overall assessment. You can’t just show up for a few weeks, tell people how do to stuff and then leave. We want to make a long-term impact. After this trip, their resources and educational needs will be clear to us, as well as their level of desired involvement in what we want to do.
HCVT: What kind of help are you getting to start this up?
AL: Our paperwork to be an official Virginia Tech club will be submitted and processed this week. We’ve already had one advocacy day to pass out information and discuss poverty and hunger. In Nicaragua, we are partnering with Because We Care Ministries who will be getting us housing. Our first corporate sponsor, Parallel 49 Strategies, is a leadership development corporation based out of Montana. They’ll be giving us an agricultural curriculum specifically for Latin America. We are in talks now with another corporate sponsor that would potentially donate tens of thousands of dollars. We’re trying for big grants, too. A legal consultant and accountant have donated their expertise to us as well.
MS: The organization is really new, as it just started on January 20. I spend a lot of time proofreading grants. I’ve been working as an advocate for us as well.
[pagebreak]
HCVT: How are you preparing for your trip to Nicaragua?
AL: Because we have never done anything like this before, we are trying to get as much expertise as possible. Right now we are creating a Community and Cultural Needs Assessment. Once finished, our friends at Because We Care Ministries will help facilitate the surveying process. Results from this will help us gauge their needs and how we can best help them as well as tell us any cultural adjustments we may need to make.
MS: I won’t be able to go on the trip this year but I’ve been serving as a kind of administrative assistant. I’ve been creating a list of crops with retainable seeds that can be used over and over again. I’m also a sounding board for Austin; we bounce ideas off of each other.
HCVT: How were you inspired to start your own organization?
AL: I’ve had ideas bouncing around in my head for a while but lacked a model to start it up. This past summer, through FFA, I had the opportunity to go to Zambia, Africa. It was a phenomenal experience. I worked with an organization doing a similar project and the resources and networks for me came together there.
HCVT: What else are you involved with?
AL: I was recently elected to the Senate of the Student Government Association as a representative of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. I’m an active member of Virginia Tech’s collegiate FFA chapter and Young Farmers. I am a member of the Residential Leadership Community and a Pamplin Scholar, which covers my full tuition and all fees for four years.
MS: I’m also part of FFA, Young Farmers, and the Residential Leadership Community. I’m employed at the state FFA office as a state staff assistant. I’m finishing up my term as 2010 Virginia Beef Queen, which is a scholarship program that allows me to advocate for the beef industry. I’ve done a lot of fun things through that like representing the cattle industry at the State Chili Cook-Off in Roanoke. I’m looking into becoming a National Beef Ambassador next, which is like a state FFA officer, but advocates for the beef industry.
HCVT: Do you find it challenging to balance academics with everything else you’re doing?
AL: Yes, it is difficult to start an international organization from scratch and put energy and effort into that while having a full course load and being involved in other things. On the weekends, when everyone else is having fun, we’re editing grants and proposals. We set aside a little time for leisure, but we use most of our free time to get ahead in school so we can work on Feed by Seed.
MS: We have the occasional mental breakdown. It’s all about time management. In high school, I was super busy. Last year, I was gone from home for weeks at a time. I get my energy from staying busy and being active. Sometimes it is draining, but Austin is in University Honors and I made the Dean’s List last semester. Feed by Seed doesn’t take away from us, but rather motivates us to do better.
HCVT: What do you plan to do after college?
AL: With as much support as we’ve been getting for Feed by Seed, I think it could become not only a nonprofit, but a job. I want to be in the international agriculture development and education realm somehow. At some point I want to bring what I’m doing full circle and work in international agriculture policy creation and consulting. I’ve worked with Congressman Goodlatte, Vice Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture and looked at internships with USDA and USAID. I think I could enjoy working in an office in Washington D.C., after I gain some experience. My goal is to hopefully transform the way most of agriculture aid is given.
MS: I want to keep advocating for agriculture. Farmers are their worst promoters because they are very humble and put in a lot of hours for not much money. It comes down to their passion and people need to know that. I want to be a cooperative extension agent, which is basically a walking encyclopedia for famers. Eventually, I’d like to be an agriculture teacher in school and then go back to the family farm. My brother will probably be doing the production but my siblings are the only grandchildren interested in keeping up the farm. It’d be a shame to let it go after six generations.
HCVT: What advice would you give to incoming freshman looking to have something more than the typical college experience?
AL: As a freshman, you look at all the clubs and organizations out there. That’s fine, but don’t think you have to wait for an opportunity to arise. Most people will wait for an email that says exactly what they want to do. By that time, the position is filled. Go out, explore, and create your own opportunities.
MS: It’s important to not always conform. The purpose of college is to find out who you are, your passions, and how you can contribute to society. Try a lot to find what you are passionate about. If you are doing it for the rest of your life, you should love it. It’s not all about money or popularity. None of the fields I want to go into guarantee a big paycheck at all.
If you’re interested in getting involved with Feed by Seed…
feedbyseed@vt.edu
http://facebook.com/FeedbySeed
http://feedbyseed.org