Associate Farm Reporter Carli Davenport spoke to Micaela Halverson who explained that the annual AGHerCulture event is designed to inspire high school girls interested in agriculture. “This is an event that we have been doing for the last five years here in Oklahoma, but it is a gathering of high school agricultural girls and students that want to learn a little bit more about themselves and possible career opportunities,” she said. This year, more than 150 students participated, engaging with mentors and exploring different paths within the agricultural industry.
The day began with a personality test designed to help the girls better understand their strengths and tendencies. Halverson shared, “This morning, all of the students got to take an in-person, live personality test and learn a little bit more. Are they fun, energetic, analytical people or very structured and organized rule followers?” After that activity, students moved into career-fair style sessions with mentors representing fields such as animal agriculture. “We’ve got 13 different mentors here today, and those students are getting to go through 10 of those groups and dive a little bit deeper, exploring what options they might have,” she added.
Choosing the right mentors was no easy task. “Deciding on mentors was really tough, because we know a lot of really amazing women in ag,” Halverson explained. The team worked to include professionals across a wide variety of fields, narrowing it down to those “that were excelling and successful and who also interacted with students, and wouldn’t mind being here today and being able to share and easily talk about what they do.”
Halverson also reflected on how this event differs from other opportunities for students. “When we thought about what we wanted to bring to this event, and what would have helped us as we looked at our younger selves in high school, we didn’t know what we wanted to be when we grow up,” she said. Instead of focusing only on future job titles, the event encourages girls to ask, “What motivates you, what do you excel in, what do you enjoy doing?” By exposing students to a broad range of careers, Halverson hopes to open doors beyond what they might already know through family or school connections.
Looking ahead, Halverson said the event has grown and shifted with time. “This event in the past was a lot of leadership, inner reflection… but we really changed it this year with more of that career focus,” she explained. She sees this year as “just the tip of the iceberg” and hopes to continue expanding. “As we’re learning through what worked and what doesn’t work for this first year, I’m sure there’ll be changes… but I’m hoping that this new exploring careers will be on the table for next year and something that we’re able to provide for these girls.”
