Erica Irlbeck
Doctoral Graduate Student / Department of Agricultural Education & Communications SIX YEARS AGO agricultural reporter Erica Irlbeck rode through Cape Town, South Africa, immediately loving the European feel of the city. Then, her heart sank. As the car approached a shanty town, all the 24-year-old could see were random objects pieced together to form houses.
"That was depressing to see," Irlbeck said.
Award Winner. As a national reporter for AgDay Television, Irlbeck's trip abroad was full of tough tasks including an assignment to detail the importance of soybeans in the diet of individuals suffering from AIDS, the world's fourth-leading cause of death, and No. 1 in sub-Saharan Africa.
It would be a story that would eventually garner the Oklahoma native an "Oscar in Agriculture" for excellence in agriculture journalism from the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.
Industry Experience. Today, Irlbeck is back in Texas. She recently earned a master's degree in agricultural communications from Texas Tech University and is now working toward a doctorate in Tech's Department of Agricultural Education and Communications. She also serves as an instructor in that department.
"The greatest thing about Erica is that she brings a wealth of industry experience to the students," said Tech Associate Professor Cindy Akers, recipient of the Hemphill Wells New Professor Excellence in Teaching Award.
Public Speaking. Raised in Carmen, Okla., Irlbeck was active in 4-H and the National FFA Organization. "Public speaking and speech contests were very important," she said. "They helped me get over shyness, and now, I'm very comfortable speaking in public."
Irlbeck received a bachelor's degree in agricultural communications from Oklahoma State University""Stillwater in 1998. She then worked at KLBK-TV, Channel 13, in Lubbock as an agricultural reporter and later a general assignment news reporter.
Caring Advice. Irlbeck took a position as an agricultural reporter for Farm Journal Media's AgDay Television in 2000. Two years later she left the program and returned to Lubbock. She married broadcast producer Scott Irlbeck in 2003.
"When I leave this earth," Irlbeck said, "I hope my students know that I cared and use some of the advice I tried to pass along."
Written by Mackenzie Gregory
Davis College NewsCenter
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