Orientation and some other stuff...

I made it through orientation for KARL in one piece, and I have a new appreciation for the opportunity I have the honor to be a part of. It's going to be a great two-year ride.

Our orientation consisted of a luncheon with our new classmates - 30 of the top leadership candidates in the state of Kansas. I am one of four in the Southwest Kansas region joining a banker from Garden City, a rancher from Ingalls, and a woman who is a watershed coordinator in the Solomon Valley, but is a future resident of Kalvesta (she gets married in a few weeks and will be moving). There are 12 women in the class, the most ever, and the most farmers/ranchers in several years. There are 20 of 30 part-time and full-time producers. The average age of Class XII is 35, raising just a little from the past. I was also surprised to see that KARL now has representation in 101 of 105 Kansas counties - that's quite the footprint.


In addition to meeting our classmates we were also given an overview of what exactly we would be doing over the next two years. It's a chore to wrap my mind around all the experiences that lay ahead. For example, we visit Leavenworth for one of the in-state seminars. That means each of us will undergo an extensive FBI background check before we are cleared, and we'll also spend time in jail. That's right - they lock us up for a morning. This seminar will allow us to see what our tax dollars are doing as far as inmate rehabilitation. Another part of the trip is spending time with U.S. Military who are training to be the next wave of Generals in the U.S. Military. Nothing like a little intimidation!

Another seminar will be held in Norton, and we'll also be visiting Wichita to see how Kansas takes advantage of both agriculture and aviation to lead the nation. We'll take a trip to Pittsburg to learn about economics and change, and Topeka to see just how governing is done. We'll get a first hand look at how Greensburg is rebuilding their community after complete devastation just five years ago. There are 12 total seminars and nine are in-state, while three take us outside Kansas.

One of those out-of-state experiences will be a week in Washington, D.C., and the other experience referred to as "Blue Chip" will be held at the corporate offices of Burlington Northern Santa Fe in Fort Worth. This three day seminar gives us all access to top management of this Fortune 500 company, and we'll get a crash course in upper management and be able to pick the brains of people who make decisions that affect hundreds of employees.

KARL also involves an international study experience and we learned our class would be visiting South Africa. I have to admit I am very excited about this trip. Having two friends visit parts of Africa in recent years I am comfortable that this will be an amazing experience. This 10 to 12 day trip will cover not only the culture of South Africa, but politics, trade, agriculture, and economic climate. It's not a vacation, it's an intensive educational trip.

I've done some pretty awesome things in just a short amount of time, and I'm excited to take on a new set of challenges and rewards. I am hopeful that this experience not only makes me grow as a professional, but pushes me even further from my comfort zone. I remember in college speaking to a fellow Sigma Alpha sister who came to Manhattan to initiate the Alpha Omega chapter. Over dinner she told me, "you have so much talent and potential - just make sure to step outside your comfort zone. If you don't you'll sell yourself short."

I'm ready to not only step outside that zone, but a take a pretty big leap.