UT City Girl Balances Country Life with Agro-Marketing

Balancing farm life and emails is not always the easiest thing, said Kristin Anderson ’15. But for the energetic and bubbly senior, Anderson takes it in stride.

Most students know Anderson as this year’s Student Government president, the one who served as vice president to Matthew Rutkovitz ’13 in 2012-2013, and an active member of her sorority, the Panhellenic Council, the Honors program and the UT Diplomats.

What most don’t know is that Anderson feels most connected, most at home, when she is getting her hands dirty on the farm.

“When you’re working with animals and with crops, you’re getting down to the purest of the pure,” said Anderson, of Brownsburg, IN. “There is nothing better than working in the hot sun all day, with your phone off, living life in its purest form without distraction.”

This summer, Anderson has started her days at 6 a.m., driving to the barn at Cox Cattle Farms to rinse and feed cattle. She’ll then help bale hale or head to her job in downtown Indianapolis where she works as a marketing and promotions representative for Emmis Communications.

Anderson volunteers with the Illiana Watermelon Association doing promotions and marketing (at events like state fairs, grocery store openings and nonprofit events), though most of her weekends this summer she has been showing Limousin cattle at events around the country. In addition, Anderson is running for a position on the Junior Board of Directors for the North American Limousin Foundation, which acts as representation for the Limousin breed of cattle across the country, educating folks on anything from animal genetics to where locally grown beef can be found.

Anderson said her involvement with both the Illiana Watermelon Association and the Indiana Limousin Association have provided her with unparalleled opportunities to become immersed in the field of agricultural communications.

“It has been an amazing journey to see how my education and scholastic experience at UT and in the Tampa community have meshed so well with my experiences back home,” she said. “These things combined have taught me to be proud of this industry and American farmers, how to educate the public and better connect them with agricultural resources, and to remain disciplined in everything I do.”

Anderson didn’t start her career at UT knowing agricultural communications would be her passion. She started in marine biology, and through the guidance of her advisors and some professors, she found her current major, advertising and public relations, with a minor in speech.

“I switched majors multiple times, finding that ultimately I wanted to do something I was both passionate about and already had a strong skill set in,” Anderson said. “All of my professors have allowed me to tailor my work and assignments to my chosen career path in agriculture.”

An ideal job, Anderson said, would be as a sales representative for a seed company or pursuing a law degree and working on advocacy as a lobbyist. Regardless, this city girl has easily found balance with her country life.

“From both my classes at UT and my extracurricular involvement I have unique connections with a diverse array of people,” she said. “I have developed a love for PR campaigns and media strategy, and most importantly, I have learned that no matter what field or industry you are passionate about, you can make a difference.”

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