Charles Ellis Parker

With only one year of my college academic journey left I have recently found myself wondering, “Am I where I wanted to be when I entered NCSU as a freshman?”. Also, I often ask myself, “Have I taken the proper steps to set myself up for my 5-year and even 10-year goals?”. I guess I could say that I’m still answering those questions and maybe following graduation I will have a better conclusion but one thing I can say is that with all the knowledge and experience that I have received from NCSU I am feeling very optimistic about my future. For all of my life I have wanted to farm, rather it be with livestock, or driving a tractor prepping land for the upcoming planting season. Before I made the decision to attend college I had almost given up on the thought of ever being able to farm for myself. I thought that attending college was my only other option to providing a suitable lifestyle for myself and my family one day. But, as my college experience is quickly approaching an end I have learned that nothing is for certain. I have learned so many incredible things while in college, things that I will take with me and use for the rest of my life. Following college graduation, I plan to start off my career as a seed/chemical/fertilizer rep or enter as a crop consultant. Along with my career in agronomy I plan to work in the swine industry. One of my all-time goals is to own and operate my own swine farm. I have a passion for working with pigs and I love everything about it. In fact, since school has been online since last August, I have had the opportunity to work on a finishing farm completing the daily tasks and chores. There’s nothing that I love more than to wake up in the morning and head to the hog farm for morning rounds. So for my 5-year plan of my career goals, In 5 years, I see myself in an agronomist position helping farmers make informed and educated decisions on their crops. Along with that I plan to operate a swine finishing or topping farm as a “side job” or “side hobby” as I often refer to it as.