{"id":628,"date":"2024-09-16T09:15:58","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T13:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/?p=628"},"modified":"2024-09-16T09:15:58","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T13:15:58","slug":"q-a-with-a-uga-mentee-samantha-ayoub-bsa-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/2024\/09\/q-a-with-a-uga-mentee-samantha-ayoub-bsa-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Q & A with a UGA Mentee: Samantha Ayoub (BSA \u201921)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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SAMANTHA AYOUB (BSA ’21)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DEGREE:<\/strong> BSA in Agricultural and Applied Economics with a minor in Agribusiness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CURRENT POSITION: <\/strong>Associate Economist for American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As a mentee, what was your biggest hesitation regarding UGA Mentor? How did you overcome it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I participated in UGA Mentor Program my first semester freshman year. That\u2019s a crazy time just getting settled into college, so it also seemed daunting to try and talk through and plan for your life years later. I also knew I wanted to end up doing agricultural policy in D.C. which at the time seemed like a niche focus (little did I know how strong the D.C. ag world truly is!). Christy Seyfert (BSA \u201998)<\/strong> was my number one match after I filled out the program information and it seemed like fate was saying I was on the right path. Having someone to talk about the \u201cdream\u201d job with made me realize it was attainable and that it was ok if life led down unexpected paths. Picking a solid career path at 18 is scary and largely unrealistic for most people, so having someone to talk through the uncertainty of college and the years after really helped me accept deviations from the plan I thought I had laid out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what ways did Christy help you during your time as a student?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Christy really helped me navigate all the fantastic opportunities CAES has, to focus on ones that would set me on the agricultural policy career I was hoping for. I still have the notes from all our sessions that first semester! With so many endless options at UGA in terms of majors\/clubs\/programs, it can be daunting to pick what is best for you. Having someone who had been (and still is) involved in the college and pursuing the career I wanted really helped me navigate the enormous number of prospects that come with being an early college student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you\u2019ve graduated, do you mind sharing what that support has looked like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For a few years, I strayed a bit from the initial career path I had dreamed of. I worked in Nebraska and went back to get my master\u2019s in Colorado in hopes of going into extension. This combined with the pandemic meant I kind of lost touch with Christy for a little bit. An extracurricular program reminded me of my love of D.C. and the career I had envisioned there. Funnily enough, my best friend ended up interning with American Soybean Association and met Christy, and I had her re-connect us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christy was as welcoming and kind as ever, and I immediately remembered why I had loved my time with her as an \u201cofficial\u201d mentor. As I started spending more time in DC and searching for jobs, I started reaching back out to Christy more often for her advice on starting my career. Now that I\u2019m living in D.C., I\u2019m only a few Metro stops away from her office! It was so nice to have someone I already knew in D.C. to meet up with and talk through this new transition time in my life. And it\u2019s always nice to know you could run into a friendly face at an event; my first week in D.C., I ran into Christy at the Congressional baseball game!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What would you say to a student that is considering UGA Mentor? What would you say to an alum?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For a student, even if you don\u2019t 100% know what you want to do after college, having someone to talk through what you like (or don\u2019t!) can be so helpful in figuring out where you want to go.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I always laughed at the \u201cDawgs Never Bark Alone\u201d statement of the alumni, but it truly is amazing how a UGA bond can lead to great connections outside of college. Every time I meet a fellow Dawg, they are always the most helpful, supportive people. Having the UGA Mentor Program to give you that first step in building your network out of school will only lead to more success as you grow your circle. And don\u2019t be afraid to lean into that Dawg Family!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For an alum, I hope you have also seen the generosity and support of the CAES\/UGA alumni. If we want to continue that supportive alumni group, it starts with giving back to the students that are in the shoes we once were.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want all our current students to be proud to be a Bulldawg and knowing that we have such a great group of alumni out in the world waiting to support them in a scary transition is a fantastic way we can build that pride. UGA puts a lot of good into us as students- let\u2019s help them out where we are able!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

One more thing to share…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One thing I always hear about networks\/mentors is how sometimes you make a great connection, but you lose touch and don\u2019t know how to reach back out. One thing I\u2019ve definitely learned from my experience with Christy is that you always have the option, it truly is as simple as sending an email with a hello!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life is busy \u2013 no one expects you to keep in contact every moment, but the great connection didn\u2019t go away just because some time has passed. If someone truly wants to be a support system for you (and our UGA Mentors do!), they will always be there for you, no matter if you\u2019re in the program or years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UGA Mentor Program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Interested in learning more or participating in the UGA Mentor Program? Visit mentor.uga.edu.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q&A with Samantha Ayoub, a UGA Mentee who graduated in 2021 with a BSA in Agricultural and Applied Economics minoring in Agribusiness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mentors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":650,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628\/revisions\/650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}