After his sophomore year at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), Robert “Trey” Lewis III began to shine. His professors, so impressed with his research and leadership capabilities, began sending him to conferences to display his talent and devotion to academic achievements. During one of those conferences, he spoke with representatives from the food processing giant Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM). That conversation led to an on-the-spot interview which immediately turned into an internship offer for their plant in Nebraska. That summer, Lewis learned the ropes as a management intern, often given the trust and confidence to manage portions of the plant on his own.
At the end of the internship, he gave a presentation detailing lessons learned and the value he brought to the plant. ADM, who had been looking for schools to visit for recruitment opportunities, decided to plan an ADM-Day for students in the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences (CAHS), completely based on the strength of Lewis’ internship performance alone.
He retells this astonishing moment of persuading one of the largest food processing plants in the nation to visit his campus with an air of confidence like it was an inevitable occurrence, though we know plenty of effort went into pulling that off. Stories like these completely capture Lewis’ journey as a PVAMU student: focused, determined through true grit, and constantly forging his path ahead for himself and others.
Robert “Trey” Lewis
“I am very future-minded, and I have been told that is a flaw because I don’t like to live in the present as much,” Lewis said. “I am so busy preparing for the future that I can sometimes miss acknowledging current blessings. But I am grateful for all I experienced at PV.”
His ambition appears to come naturally and has served him well. As of May 13, Lewis is a PVAMU CAHS alum. He will spend one month at Kansas State University this summer researching agribusiness for their K-State Research and Extension Summer Research Fellowship and then head to Austin to earn a master’s in Global Policy from the University of Texas. Lewis is a self-declared forward-thinker, but his path to CAHS had been laid before him his entire life. He is a third-generation Panther; his mother and grandfather both attended PVAMU before forging careers in the United States Department of Agriculture and Education, respectively. He spent so much time on the Hill growing up that he was able to dip his toes into agriculture early and often, and he says he always knew what his future would look like. Some of the people from his childhood are still present in his life today.
“A few professors already knew my name before I got here,” Lewis said. “My mom was Dr. [Alfred] Parks’ teaching assistant; I knew Dr. [Richard] Griffin through soil judging competitions I participated in when I was a child, through 4-H. I met Mr. [Horace] Hodge through the Summer Bridge program. I had the familiarity with this campus early on.”
If you spend enough time around the AgBusiness building or attend CAHS events on and off campus, you will see Lewis there, absorbing as much information as he can or taking the reins in various leadership roles. It is a far cry from his first couple of semesters as an undergraduate.
“I was very shy before I started college,” Lewis said. “Coming here challenged me to get outside my comfort zone, and I just reminded myself of who I wanted to be and who I wanted to impact. That led me to choose leadership roles that helped me grow and learn my strengths and weaknesses.”
Sheer focus on becoming the man he wants to be has been his guiding light as a student, and that one-track determination propelled him to graduation with a strong GPA and a mindset that is prepared to take on life after college.
“Now there is no question of what I want to do and how I will achieve it,” Lewis said. “It is just a matter of applying what I have learned here and moving forward. I laid a great foundation, and I am ready to take the next step.”
His familial support and own personal resolve have set the stage for success. His mentors are more than sure he is ready to tackle the future.
“Robert is a model student, and I applaud his humble spirit, his commitment to achieving excellence, and his desire to be all that he can be,” Professor Wash Jones, Ph.D., said. “I commend him for his active engagement in various educational opportunities at PVAMU and his professional demeanor as a trailblazing leader among his peers.”
“Robert is an outstanding student,” Regents Professor Alfred Parks, Ph.D., said. “In this modern era of students, he stands out as being mature beyond his age. He is extremely focused and has a great vision for his future. I do not doubt that he is going to succeed in his career endeavors and be a great contributor to our society.”
Nothing about his trajectory is a surprise or daunting. For Lewis, the choices he made at PVAMU have laid a clear path for what he wants and needs to be successful.
“I typically select students for research projects early in their university careers so I can train them to think critically and develop scientific curiosity,” CAHS Professor Aruna Weerasooriya, Ph.D., said. “Robert was one such student. During a period when Industrial Hemp was legalized in Texas, and there was widespread interest in growing it, we began researching its potential with the private companies developing cannabis-based products. Robert conducted excellent experiments, evaluated the process, and presented his findings at many national-level scientific conferences. I am extremely proud of Robert’s dedication and research abilities and hope that other students will follow him.”
Lewis has been a part of several student organizations since stepping foot on campus. He led the Agribusiness Club; he was an Ag Club ambassador and was a member of Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS). He was a student researcher for the Cooperative Agricultural Research Center (CARC) and is a Phi Beta Sigma fraternity member. During his senior year, he put together a production team to start an agriculture podcast, which he hopes will be picked up by the next group of students. After volunteering at a nearby nursery last fall, Lewis built a bamboo garden at the Governor Bill and Vara Daniel Farm and Ranch, a beautiful patch of greenery that will grace the farm for decades to come and invite more students to become interested in agriculture.
“Laying a foundation to allow others to lead well is what I want to leave behind,” Lewis said. “Whoever comes after me can see that I and other student leaders like Charles Carpenter, III and Taylor Stewart did more than just attend class and graduate.”
“Robert always asks insightful questions that make you think a bit bigger to correctly answer the question that has been posed,” CAHS Professor Richard Griffin, Ph.D., said. “I have no doubt that Robert will successfully navigate his career path and make PV proud.”
Lewis is still not sure what his ideal career will look like once he completes graduate school. His research at PVAMU involved hemp chemistry and innovation, but his interests also include food insecurity, environmental sustainability, and agriculture policy, though he is still determining if politics is the way to go. He may see himself working on the ground and reaching the marginalized directly. The dream career he wants may not even be a reality yet, he says. If that is the case, this trailblazer is ready to take over.
“I definitely want to influence policy; I know that I want to focus on world hunger, and I hope my graduate degree will allow me to better understand how to influence policy on that grander scale. So, we will see where that takes me. I may just have to run for President!”
Pascale Mondesir
Senior Communications Specialist
pamondesir@pvamu.edu