Hi, my name is Jessica Vogel and I would like to give you some insight on my internship at the North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine! I am attending Nocona High School and will be starting as a sophomore this upcoming school year. When I began my freshman year I realized that with becoming a high school student comes a question you will continuously hear: What do you want to be when you grow up? I am always left with the same answer: I have no clue.

Growing up I was always around agriculture. Whether it be helping my dad water the garden or taking care of my show pigs, agriculture was a huge part in my life. I was always a very outdoorsy girl and sitting in a deer blind with my dad was my idea of a good time. I always knew that I was going to grow up and work in the agriculture industry, but at the age of eight I didn’t know how many branches there were to the business. I also didn’t know that I would fall in love with journalism. If I weren’t outside you could find me curled up with a book, and since elementary school I was known as the girl who could read all day and write all night! However, journalism and agriculture are two extremely different things, and I was heartbroken when I thought that I would have to choose between my two passions. Then my mother, Jennifer Vogel, informed me about the North Texas Farm & Ranch Magazine. I always knew about the magazine; if you grow up around cattle you will always see one or two copies in your dad’s pickup truck, but I never imagined thinking about a job there! As you now know, I was born learning about agriculture and I never considered how people who weren’t raised on a farm or ranch learned about farm and ranching. Everything I learned I was taught by family or by experience, but what about the people who don’t have that luxury? That’s where North Texas Farm & Ranch comes in.

On my first day the most important thing I learned was that North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine was built on the principles of accurate and truthful information. Before the magazine is released to the public they reach out to reliable sources to ensure that the information they receive is factual and precise. Although the magazine is based in North Texas, people from all over, even other states, enjoy reading it and look forward to each month’s new issue. NTFR helps people who are brand new to the world of farming and ranching who are looking for information; even looking through one issue can help them discover many sources for various subjects. Interning at NTFR has helped me see just how far agriculture goes and how many jobs are available in the industry; you just have to think outside the box. The field of agriculture is so much more than plowing a field or hauling a load of cattle; agriculture can be found in art and writing. Interning at NTFR has opened my eyes to careers that I never knew existed! This experience will help me decide what career will suit me best, and for that I will always be thankful!

Thanks for reading,

Jessica Vogel