Timothy D. Bryant, II, was one of 40 collegiate men and women selected by Agriculture Future of America (AFA) to participate in the National Ag Day activities in Washington, D.C. March 6-8. 2012.
The event was held during National Ag Week, which features producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless others from across the United States to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture.
As part of National Ag Day, the students from the various institutions toured Washington, D.C., attended workshops and met with members of Congress and the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
Bryant, 21, is a junior agriculture major with a concentration in agricultural economics in the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences. As the only student selected from a Historically Black College and University to participate in the event, Bryant said he realized the important nature of this event.
“I feel like I have to represent my university, my family and community well, so I can open the door for others, like people opened the doors for me,” Bryant said.
Bryant was selected after completing an on-line AFA form. He said he has been networking with AFA representatives for about a year. He said he first met AFA representatives at the 2011 Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) Conference in Kansas City. Since then, he said he has interacted with AFA several times including at the Cargill Biofuels Refinery when he was part of a Kansas State University internship, and through a Monsanto 1890 Program activity last fall.
At PVAMU, Bryant is a member of MANRRS, Brothers Leading and Cultivating Knowledge (BLACK) and he was a member of the PVAMU football team for three years. He is a graduate of Houston’s St. Pius X High School. He said he desires a career as a public servant and university professor in the area of economics.
In summer 2011, Bryant participated in a research program at Kansas State University. In summer 2012, he is scheduled to participate in a Monsanto Company internship in the area of sales.
by Dr. Wash Jones, assistant professor, College of Agriculture and Human Sciences
Timothy D. Bryant, II of the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences was the only student chosen to represent a HBCU in the National Ag Day activities in Washington, D.C. Photo: Courtesy of the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences
