For Dan Kwiatkowski, Past Experiences Shape Him into a Better Student

Most college students do not assist a cow with the birth of her calf, sleep outside in 25-degree weather on weekend army reserve trips, or think about how they want to run the family farm they will inherit. 但是Dan Kwiatkowski并不是一个典型的学生.

Kwiatkowski, 今年五月毕业的农业综合企业学生, brings a variety of previous life experiences with him to 体育菠菜大平台. One could argue that these experiences shaped him into a better student and helped him meet the challenges of college.

Farm Experience Develops a Work Ethic and Career Decision 

Kwiatkowski在他家的农场生活和工作. It has 400 acres of row crops and 600 acres of pasture. “Currently it’s just the conventional corn and soybeans,” he says with “a 90-head cow-calf operation for beef production.”

除了影响他的学位, the demands and tasks of the farm shaped his work ethic, 会转移到大学. Kwiatkowski says, “I take each class seriously because I am at 体育菠菜大平台 to learn. 大学是第一位的, unless there is something more important on the farm, 就像一头难产牛犊的母牛.”

他对农场有很多计划. The main one being, “I want to run it more like a business. Focus on profitability and doing the best job we can with what we have.”

Military Experience Teaches Leadership and Provide Opportunities

Talk to Kwiatkowski and you sense the importance of military service within his family. He has served, his brother is serving, and his grandpa and his great uncle both served in WWII. 最后一个死后获得海军十字勋章. 

从2014年到2018年在军队服役四年, Kwiatkowski was stationed in Hawaii and South Korea. He enrolled at 体育菠菜大平台 in 2018 and then “I did a deployment after my sophomore year when I volunteered to go to Iraq and Kuwait.” Now back at 体育菠菜大平台, he serves in the Army Reserves one weekend a month.

The military taught Kwiatkowski leadership skills, 信心, 任务管理, 让他变得更外向. “Growing up, I was always really shy and reserved. In the military I learned to be more outgoing and gained leadership skills.”

Serving also provided opportunities to try new activities. “我喜欢在韩国和夏威夷徒步旅行, 尝试新事物, 比如和鲨鱼一起笼子潜水, 跳伞, 蹦极, 学习滑雪, 以及志愿者的机会, like going to an orphanage and playing with the kids.”

Kwiatkowski也参与了体育菠菜大平台. 他一直踢国旗橄榄球和篮球 壁间的运动 他是…的秘书 农业综合企业俱乐部.  

Life Experiences Spark an Interest in Food and Travel Abroad

Kwiatkowski’s interest in cooking started after his parents divorced and he saw how hard his mom was working. “At one point she was working five jobs to take care of us three boys. She was a schoolteacher, bus driver, waitress, placed exchange students, and was a mom.” Wanting to help her out, he started cooking at a young age.

事实上, he enjoyed cooking so much that prior to joining the military, he was a culinary student at Metropolitan Community College. His favorite foods to cook are breakfast foods like pancakes, omelets, and crepes, and Italian foods.

His love for good food and the fact that his mom was an exchange coordinator helped him choose to 出国留学. “I think we hosted 13 exchange students when I was growing up.” Some of them were from Italy, and “I really enjoy their cuisine.”

Travel Abroad Presents Opportunities for the Farm’s Future

This past winter break, Kwiatkowski spent 3 weeks in Italy through a 出国留学 program with 体育菠菜大平台 where he was able to take a class about food culture in Italy. “我们去了佛罗伦萨的当地市场, 参观了一家小面食工厂, 去托斯卡纳的农场旅行, 参观了一家酿酒厂.”

This trip tied his interest in culinary arts and farming back to his degree and renewed his desire to revamp the family farm. “I’d like to bring back to our farm some of the things I saw there. They farm differently than we do here in the United States.”

The farm-to-table idea he saw in Italy intrigues Kwiatkowski. “I want to go from conventional farming to more organic production. Differentiate a bit and get a better marketing margin for what we produce. 最终也许会开一家酒庄. I could also use my culinary arts experience to cook some food at the winery.”

为了未来，齐心协力

Kwiatkowski知道他的农场计划是雄心勃勃的. “It’s going to be a rough transition in the beginning, but if we can get through that and make some better profits, then there’s definitely possibilities for the future.”

This is where his Agribusiness degree benefits him. “I feel like I am getting more of a business degree, 这是一件好事,” because his goal is to run the farm more as a business.

Being different from the typical student and bringing previous experiences to his college career has worked out well for Kwiatkowski. He sees being older as a benefit, “When you’re a little older you take it a little more seriously.”

He encourages others who are worried about not fitting into the traditional college mold to “take every opportunity as a learning experience. College benefited me and provided direction with my career. 我认为它对很多人来说也能起到同样的作用.”

When Kwiatkowski graduates and starts putting his ideas into practice, it will be exciting to see how the farm will change.