The Journey begins with MARL Class #13
The Journey begins with MARL Class #13
Thirty members of the cohort coming together…
“Preparing for Development”
Team Building & Peer Coaching
Public Speaking, photo sessions, recreation, bonfire, building relations,
listening, questioning, sharing, learning, growing….
Dustin Johnson, Emily Alm, Emily Dehn putting it on paper…
Okey Ukaga explaining and Ryan Vesey listening
Carson Ouellette and Sue Schatz – sharing good coffee & more…
Crossing the Headwaters at the source. Lake Itasca. Second longest river in North America, flowing 2,350 miles from source to Gulf of Mexico. It courses through 10 states.
MARL Seminar 1 Personal Journal Entry – contributing: Terra Wierson, Northfield
On Wednesday, September 11 at Itasca State Park & the headwaters of the Mississippi River, my Minnesota Agriculture & Rural Leadership journey began. I had all of the emotions leading up to this, from anxiety of meeting a whole group of new people and being expected to talk about my strengths and weaknesses… to excitement of the exact same thing, with the idea that I could improve myself personally as well as professionally. Set in and around the University of Minnesota Biome Center, our first day was purely laid out to get to know our fellow 29 classmates, and familiarize ourselves with names, cities, occupations and to realize our similar reasons for applying to MARL in the first place – all intended to create a sense of community and trust. Once we started sharing those strengths and weaknesses, I found that I have so much more in common with this group than I assumed. Any angst I had was dissolving with every discussion.
Soon it was time for Park Naturalist Connie Cox to present the history of the park and guide our visit to the headwaters. Through her informative and entertaining story, we learned about the many early voyagers who sought out the source of the great Mississippi before the state park ever existed. It was a story of some very inflated egos, as well as of true leaders. After wading through the water and walking over the rocks, we headed back to have dinner. We shared a meal together, then quickly changed into our formal business wear for professional headshots as well as a group photo. Following that, some enjoyed the cool evening with a bonfire and stories, and others, like myself, turned in for some much needed rest.
Day two was filled with adventure- my favorite part! We had breakfast then loaded the bus to visit the Gunvalson wild rice farm about an hour north of the park. On the bus ride, we shared our “Me Sheet” information and photos to get to know each other more. At the farm, we spent a couple of hours learning about planting, maintaining and harvesting rice patties.
We then toured Riviana Foods rice processing plant in Clearbrook. I learned so much about wild rice farming- more than I expected. Farming wild rice isn’t something I would want to tackle, probably because of the regulations and costs, but it’s very interesting and I enjoyed every minute.
Both Toby and Brad, our MARL leaders, have said they want to put us in uncomfortable situations every time we meet so that we have a
chance to be challenged and grow. I was just getting to know the people at my initial regional group table when, back in the classroom, after lunch, we split into peer coaching groups. These are the people who I will share a lot of time with over the next 18 months sharing more of those strengths and weaknesses, AND doing a lot of growing together.
After some group time and open discussion about leadership, there was a 90-minute break. Of all the free-time activities listed on the wall, I had added my name to go hiking the night before. There was a group of six of us who met for a short hike to the fire tower on the south side of the park. This was the second time doing this in my life. The first was with my family a few years ago. The walk was the same, but the conversations were very different- and I did not see a bear this time! We are all still just trying to get to know each other. At the top of the tower, we took in the view in awe of the first explorers here who were drawing the first maps, and the tower attendants years ago watching the woods all day for a fire. After dinner, our two leaders hosted a casual social at their cabin. There were a lot of card games and great bonding happening. I turned in by 10. It was just enough.
Our third and final day was a morning filled with shifting our mindsets to be goal oriented, and we learned ways to help coach others. R.A. and I are paired up to help keep each other on task with our goals over the next couple of months before the seminar in December. The goal I chose for myself has been a hurdle all of my life, probably since high school. I can’t seem to get beyond the adrenaline rush I have at the moment before public speaking. I can be prepared and rehearsed, but being distracted in the moment still makes me freeze, and my words fall flat. My partner helped me to set a realistic set of steps that relate to opportunities I will have at work in the coming months to work towards my goal. We switched roles and I helped her with hers. We used a type of interview method taught to us in the classroom that morning.
Following this exercise, we ended the day just after noon with everyone sharing their own “nugget,” an experience we can take with us from this seminar. Mine was to admit I was anxious to meet this whole new group, but it didn’t take long to learn we are all part of MARL for the same reason, and I felt a very good sense of belonging and trust already. We are networking in the best way.
To answer the question, “Why did I apply for MARL:” I craved learning something new to better round myself personally, and to advance myself professionally. Going back for grad school is not something I’m interested in, and other options I’ve looked at were not going to provide what I want to achieve. Earlier this year, my father encouraged me to look into the program and suggested that I apply. I fell in love with the idea of the travel involved, the knowledge I’d get from the seminar topics listed, and the network opportunities it would provide.
After the experiences of this first seminar, I am so ready to put the work in and discover what I can accomplish.
