Update from Iowa

Wow! What a roller coaster ride post-graduation life has been for me! I know that I promised when I wrote my last blog post that I would stay up to date with it and keep people informed of how things were going as I transitioned through the next part of my life.

I also remember that I was struggling very hard on a personal level at trying to understand why and what it would look like to be away from the family farm I grew up on. I am happy to report back on my current mental state related to that and several other matters here in this blog post.

OK, here we go…. it's been nearly three months since I graduated from college. In the past three months I have:

She was absolutely shocked!

1. Traveled to Calgary, Alberta Canada for my first week on the job (I work in Des Moines, IA)
2. Made trips to Chicago (2X), Minneapolis (3x), Denver (1X), Atlanta (1X) and all over Iowa
3. Joined the Young Professionals in Agriculture group to build a new network of like-minded individuals.
4. lived in a camper (and survived multiple flood & tornado threats)
5. purchased my own insurance (personal success)
6.signed a lease on an apartment
7. Watched many hours of Netflix, and most importantly…..
 I PROPOSED TO ABBY (she said yes)!!!!!!!!!!

Personal Update:

We're getting married!

So, having said all of that….My life is in no way, shape of form moving any slower than it was the day I left Columbus. In fact, it is very safe to say that it is moving faster….But that's ok because I am just in awe of the fact that I am going to be marrying my best friend still. So, as I continue to put the puzzle pieces together, it is quickly becoming OUR puzzle pieces instead of MY puzzle pieces. And that is A-OK with me.

Abby will be moving out here on August 4th, exactly three months after graduation. And we will move into our apartment, which sadly means no more adventures at the campground (contrary to popular belief, they aren't that exciting). I am beyond excited to take that step and see what God has planned for us in the future.

Back To Work:

Things are good, really good. I enjoy my new job, the people I work with, and the things I get to do. Life is all about learning, and I am on the fast track to continuous learning! I'm still not sure exactly what all I do, but I know now that it involves a lot more traveling, calls and webinars than I thought it would ( I guess that's just my college naivety).

By the way, if you don't know from personal experience, 40-50% travel is much different in person than it is on paper. But I enjoy it. I get to see some amazing things and be around world class individuals and organizations. I wouldn't trade it.

Emerging Leaders:

One really cool thing I get to do is work with the Future Leaders Food Network (FLFN). My colleagues at The Prasino Group have developed a world class leadership development program that is designed to help emerging leaders throughout agriculture and the food chain as a whole to find new ways that they can tap into their own talents to be leaders.

Their are many leadership development seminars or workshops that look at this, but none really focus on the agricultural sector AND look at what the key issues will be in the next twenty years. We are committed to not only helping young & emerging leaders develop their leadership ability, but we want to be sure to address issues that they face in real life, day-to-day and help identify ways that we can work TOGETHER in agriculture to solve those issues.

Moving Forward:

As always, life is busy, busy, busy. Is I write this, I am preparing for a week in the mountains of Utah for our second installment of Future Leaders training. After that, I get to help my wonderful bride-to-be (#FutureMrsWildman) move to Iowa next weekend, move in to our apartment, and continue to work from my Iowa office for a little while.

I want to promise that I will write again soon, but I learned my lesson last time, so I won't make that promise, but I will promise to share some amazing photos and discoveries from my adventures as I go.


Special Thanks! My friend Valerie Kesterson, who I work with, was on scene to capture this breathtaking moment of my life. I owe her a lot more than I gave her (2 beers). Thank you again for being there Val!

She had no idea what I was planning

Oh, there's a ring in my pocket for you

We were both speechless

Go West Young Man

As I stated in my last blog, I have been busy lately struggling with the fact that I am about to move 600 miles away to begin my career and start the next chapter of my life. The other day I had a conversation with my father which helped me to understand, and justify what I was doing. Now as I sit here on Mother's Day, three days into the new adventure, I realized that I owe a lot to my parents and the gift they have given me.

I've wrestled lately with the fact that when I move, I have this feeling that I will be losing a part of my life. For the first time in my twenty three years, I have the ability to go and do something that wasn't planned for me. I have the chance to go and make a life for myself, to travel, to explore, to make mistakes, and to learn on my own. But I feel that when I leave, I sort of feel that I am giving up on my family, leaving all the hard work that my parents have done to help me get to this point. But then it hit me, almost like a brick to the head I understood what was going on.

I struggled with the idea of leaving and not being a part of the daily life on the farm. And at the same time my parents are letting go of their son and giving him a wide open road, guided by their excellent parenting and commitment to family. I realized that while I was feeling guilty for moving and beginning my own career, that I was finally achieving exactly what my parents had always wanted me to be able to do! I cannot wait to move into a new apartment or home in Iowa, begin making new adventures and decisions, and to create a new place for my parents to come visit (sorry its only Iowa)!

So if you read this, and you think that perhaps it relates to something you have gone through in your life, perhaps a job you were able to take or a move you made, and you think to yourself, "you know, if my parents hadn't done all they had, I never would have made it this far", then I encourage you to call home and have a conversation with those who have helped you all along the way.

Happy Mother's Day MOM.