Growing up on the family farm and having an outgoing fun-loving mother, who was heavily involved with the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) lead me to join my local club.
Young Farmers:
Growing up on the family farm and having an outgoing fun-loving mother, who was heavily involved with the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) lead me to join my local club.
Her encouragement to be involved with SAYFC has created a whirlwind of remarkable experiences and helped me to make lifelong friends and create a valuable network whilst developing a sense of self-reliance.
The experience has opened-up opportunities for worldwide travel, helped me be the best version of myself that I could be and has given me the chance to do all of this whilst having fun with friends.
It is easy to get involved, and as friendships and interests develop the various activities organised by the association allows members to pursue a blend of Young Farmer interests along with those outside necessities of careers and or education. All of which creates a vibrant and talented next generation for our rural communities.
In my case, I managed to complete a business management degree at the University of Edinburgh whilst assisting in the running of my local club as the secretary.
For 10 years, I have worked my way up through the association and this year I was delighted to be elected as SAYFCs national chair which presented new opportunities, including delivery of the organisations strategy and chairing the Board of Trustees.
Now that I am progressing in my own career, I appreciate the value of the knowledge, skill set and experience gained from this journey with Young Farmers. A journey where participation creates so much, whether that be competing in drama, speechmaking and sport or taking on a committee position. This is why employers love Young Farmers, they are pragmatic young people who get things done.
It is hardly surprising that the skills and experiences we gain from our years in Young Farmers lead to a more fulfilling life. There are organisations out there who save young lives and that is amazing.
Young Farmers is unique as it creates young lives by helping young people build successful lives.
Our Scottish membership has grown by 40 per cent in the past year.
Career:
After finishing university, I started my career as an executive assistant for a multi-national public limited company where I was fortunate to learn how to operate at board level within the corporate industry.
Since then, I have worked in the agricultural industry, taking on event management roles whilst benefiting from the challenge of the Rural Leadership Programme, held by the Worshipful Company of Farmers, it is a brilliant course that develops self-confidence, leadership and communication skills.
I have no doubt that the skills developed from the experiences through Young Farmers has contributed to my progression into my role as the events and engagement manager for the James Hutton Institute, a globally recognised research organisation delivering fundamental and applied science to drive the sustainable use of land and natural resources.
In this role I am responsible for the creation and delivery of the organisations events and engagement strategy.
