Economic Student Highlights | Dept of Economics | BYU-Idaho

# Economic Student Highlights

## Agribusiness:

### Meredith Motto

Meet Meredith Motto. She's studying Agribusiness and works as the expert who handles communications for the Professional Agricultural Student (PAS) Society group.

Meredith is getting ready to compete in the upcoming National PAS Organization Competition. She will be in two events: Ag Sales (selling agricultural products) and Equine Specialist (focusing on horses).

This competition will happen in Sheridan, Wyoming, from March 17th to the 20th. Meredith won't be alone; she will travel with 17 other students from the BYU-Idaho PAS society. Together, they will compete in many different types of events.

#### What Meredith Has Learned

The Ag Sales part of her studies has been really useful to Meredith while at BYU-Idaho. For this event, she has to create a presentation about a product and figure out how to sell it effectively, even though she won't know exactly who she's selling to ahead of time.

Daniel Rhodes (the PAS Society President) and Jeremy Slade (the team's advisor) have done a lot to help Meredith get ready. They set up professional workshops and networking events. These activities helped Meredith and her teammates learn important skills and get much better at what they do.

Keep an eye out to find out how they all do in the competition!

### Daniel Rhodes

Daniel Rhodes started studying Agribusiness at BYU-Idaho without knowing much about farming. Even so, he's been super successful, getting five different internships. He says these three things helped him the most:

- Networking with industry leaders at career fairs
- Advice from professors
- Seeking guidance from his Savior Jesus Christ

#### Hands-on Experience

Daniel has worked in a few different places, like being a Loan Officer Trainee at the USDA Farm Service Agency(FSA) and helping with farming science (agronomy) at a company called Valley Agronomics, LLC. He really stood out by always volunteering to do extra work.

He also believes that following the rules of the Word of Wisdom has helped him both spiritually and physically.

#### His Biggest Accomplishment

One of his proudest moments was while working at the USDA Farm Service Agency. He and another intern worked together to check on the risk of many farm loans. They looked at 16 different offices! They learned every step of how to do these evaluations. In the end, they figured out important ways to make the loan risks lower within one year.

#### Advice for Other Students

Daniel is confident and determined, and he tells other students to try new things that might feel a little scary. He wants them to be excited about learning and to work hard to help shape the future of farming.

### Francis Badoo

Francis Badoo is a great example of being honest, working hard, and following his faith while studying agribusiness(the business of farming). He's worked as an intern in Israel and as a Crop Advisor in Idaho.

#### Gaining Experience

While he was studying at the University of Ghana, Francis got a year-long internship with a company called **Yazamut ve Proyektim** in Israel. His job was to manage seven different farms that had a total of 50,000 chickens! He made sure the farms produced a lot of chicken, checked that the chickens were healthy, and reported on how well the whole farm was running.

#### Making a Big Impact

After that, Francis came to Brigham Young University - Idaho. Here, he kept growing his skills by taking a six-month internship as a Crop Advisor for Bingham Ag Services. He spent time with crops like wheat, corn, and sugar beets. His job was to walk through the fields looking for bugs, weeds, and sickness that could harm the crops. This work helped farmers get bigger and better harvests.

One of the most important things Francis did was during his time in Israel. He studied how the outside air temperature affected how fast the chickens grew. His research showed that the heat was a problem.

He came up with a smart idea: plant trees around the chicken barns to make the inside temperatures cooler. The farm managers saw that his idea was valuable and put his plan into action!

Francis's strong focus on agriculture and solving problems proves how much students can achieve with a good education and real-world experience in agribusiness.

## Economics:

### Elizabeth Matute

Elizabeth Matute was accepted to a big school, Texas A&M, but she decided not to go there. Instead, she chose Brigham Young University - Idaho (BYU-Idaho).

#### Why Elizabeth Chose BYU-Idaho

She wanted to learn in a place where people were excited to grow and get better, and she felt like the professors at BYU-Idaho would truly support her. While studying in Rexburg, her teachers gave her one-on-one help and made her feel important. This personal support was a big reason why she chose the school.

#### What Elizabeth Learned

Through her college work, Elizabeth has learned important skills like:

- Analytical thinking (looking closely at problems)
- Policy analysis (understanding how rules and laws work)

These skills have helped her understand worldwide problems better. She believes that education is the most valuable thing you can own, because no one can ever take it away from you.

Studying economics has given her the power to look at problems with a critical eye. While studying, she also learned how important it is to network (meet and talk to professionals) and get advice from people working in the real world.

#### The BYU-Idaho Difference

Elizabeth has really enjoyed her time at BYU-Idaho. She likes being around people who try to live Christlike values, and this has given her a strong feeling of belonging.

Elizabeth thinks every student should take at least one economics class. She feels it helps you better understand how the country works and figure out where you can make a valuable contribution.

## Financial:

### Rafael Silva

Rafael Silva went to a job fair in Salt Lake City for people who work in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Even though the fair was mainly for engineers, Rafael, who studies something else, decided to go anyway.

#### A Big Chance Lead to Big Opportunity

By stepping outside his comfort zone and talking to professionals there, he got an amazing opportunity: an internship in finance and accounting at a company called Nucor Corporation in South Carolina.

#### Making an Impact at Nucor Corp

At Nucor, Rafael found a workplace that matched his personal values. He was always open to feedback, took on hard tasks, and worked with five other interns to create a new system. This system helps the company track costs to predict possible problems across every part of the business.

This project directly helped Nucor reach its goal of becoming the safest steel company in the world.

#### Rafael's Advice to Students

Rafael's experience proves that it's important to learn new things, be flexible, and put yourself in places where opportunities are, even if they don't seem right for you at first.

As he says, "You can learn everything you want; it just depends on you."