Impactful Service

November 14, 2022

 Impactful Service

By Andela Taylor, Recruiting Coordinator

 Last week we celebrated Veterans Day by honoring all service members and their families in many ways. Area schools and the American Legion and Auxiliary members hosted patriotic programs, people posted tributes to their loved one’s service, children write notes of thanks to service members, and the list goes on.

At NCTA, we didn’t have to look far to find a special Veterans Day tribute opportunity. Each week a student volunteers to record a radio spot and together we create a video about their college experience for social media.

Our featured student last week, Emma Yarolimek, was raised in a career military family, her father serving in the U.S. Air Force and now the Air National Guard. Emma is a busy Equine Industry Management student and member of the NCTA Ranch Horse Team and serves as a Resident Assistant.

She was nominated by faculty, staff, and fellow students and selected as the October Student Senate Student-of-the-Month for her kindness and welcoming nature toward new students on campus. Emma’s heartfelt words of gratitude touched my heart. You can view her video message on any of our social media platforms and on our website.

This week we will feature Nathaly Dragoo, whose father served in the U.S. Army. Both students and our prior featured students have proven to be eager to serve the college in this way.

Service is a characteristic that resonates among our students, much like in our community and the rural region beyond. It is truly key to the vitality of small towns like ours. Students at NCTA have ample opportunity to serve and lead and they embrace it wholeheartedly.

Small Campus, Big Impact

The NCTA slogan “Small Campus, Big Impact” has been our brand for several years. (Although the college is much larger now in physical size considering the generous gift of the Hayes County Leu Ranch of an additional 2,147 acres.)

The positive attribute of smallness, therefore, refers to the small size of the student population on campus of less than 300 students. This creates a competitive advantage for students in many ways.

Beyond the benefit of small class size and student-focused hands-on learning, students have opportunities to explore the tremendous outreach facilities of the University system, take in field trips to ag industry businesses, and attend ag conferences and events.

Nearly every day there are interesting internship and career opportunities targeted to students and alumni. This smallness is a springboard to the big impact on their future success.

 Impacting the Region

Yes, the intention of “Big Impact” is focused on student success, but I hope you will agree that NCTA has a positive impact on Curtis and the region. For over a century, each year students, now alumni, from the region have received the most convenient and affordable and relevant education imaginable.

Many students from other regions of Nebraska and beyond who enroll have discovered the vitality of the region and found opportunities to stay. Others have taken what they have learned and spread the impact beyond.

If our founders could see what their vision for bringing agricultural excellence to rural regions of Nebraska looks like today, I feel certain they would consider it a legacy of their lives of service.