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It is a Faculty of Agriculture tradition for the graduating class each spring to elect officers to represent the interests of the class within the Agriculture Alumni Association.  These students have often made significant impacts on the Agricultural Campus during their time as students and continue to do so in their role as alumni.

Life President Morgan McNeil will act at the main representative of the Class of 2016 and will work with the other Life Officers to ensure that the interest of the Class are being observed in matters of finance, publicity, reunions and fundraising.  

Morgan grew up in the small residential community of Hantsport, Nova Scotia. Though she didn’t grow up on a farm, that didn’t stop her from getting involved with agriculture, joining the 4-H program at the age of 10.

Morgan was drawn to plants by taking the gardening project in 4-H and learning to grow her own food. The health benefits of fruits and vegetables made her interest in plant crops for food use even greater.

"Paired with my love for good quality, nutritious, fresh local food to sustain life and good health, I strongly believe there isn’t a better industry I could dedicate my time and efforts towards,” she explained.

(L to R) Emily Davis, Katie Molnar and Morgan NcNeil

Morgan will be spending her summer after graduation on a Going Global 4-H Exchange program. She will be traveling to the U.K. for two weeks and hosting a delegate here for one month.

“This experience will give me a perspective on agricultural practices in Europe and how they compare to Canada,” she explains.

Life Secretary Katie Molnar will provide the link between the Class of 2016 and the Faculty of Agriculture Alumni Association.  Katie will handle correspondence within the Class executive and coordinate the mechanics of the Class mailing list with the Alumni Association for special class events and other alumni mailings.

During the summer of 2014 Katie Molnar worked very closely with Lugene Young, the manager of Health Services in the department of Student Services on the Agricultural Campus. Here she discovered her passion for learning and promoting health and wellness.

Learning gives Katie a feeling of self-achievement. “I feel the more I learn, the more that I have to share and help the people around me. Knowledge is power,” she said.

Katie’s passion and dedication to promoting health and wellness led to her receiving the Health Education Award at this year’s IMPACT awards. The Health Education Award is given to a student leader who through the creative use of resources, has enhanced the quality of student life and development on this campus.

“I feel really honored to even be nominated for an Impact Award and to actually win one feels surreal. It is such a great feeling to be noticed and appreciated for all of the work that I put into health education.”

Katie has been actively involved with RESPECT on the Agricultural Campus. RESPECT is an acronym which stands for Real Energy Supporting Peer Education on Current Topics. The RESPECT team this year consisted of two students who worked collaboratively with Health Services and Student Services to promote and educate their peers to adopt health enhancing behaviors and attitudes to create a healthy campus environment.

Valedictorian Emily Davis was elected by the Class of 2016 to represent and address the Class and community at Convocation.   To say Emily Davis has made an impact on the Faculty of Agriculture and the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus over the past four years is an understatement.  Her passion to enhance student life, her dedication to helping others, her ambition to assist students in any capacity and her success both academically and with extracurricular activities, make Emily Davis a shining star.

A native of Oxford, NS, Emily dedicated her time on the Agricultural Campus to not only the Faculty of Agriculture, but to the student body as a whole.

At this year’s IMPACT awards ceremony, her contributions were recognized as she went home with awards for Student Government, Student Leadership and the Philip Stead Memorial Excellence in Student Leadership Award.

To Emily, being a student leader means being focused on empowering other students and contributing to student life.

“Being a student leader is a win-win situation. You can often see the impacts you have on your campus community and it makes you feel good inside,” she explained. “It is a great feeling to be part of something bigger than yourself. It can also be an empowering role that has a ripple effect on others and can encourage others to be involved and contribute as well.”

Congratulations to the Class of 2016 Life Executive.