The Matador Institute of Leadership Engagement (MILE) has selected 14 undergraduate students from the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources at Texas Tech University to participate in the program’s fourth cohort.

MILE is a three-semester leadership and professional development program that exposes students to key issues affecting local, state, and national agriculture while developing advanced personal and professional skills. The fourth cohort began in January 2024 and will finish in May 2025.

MILE Program Director Lindsay Kennedy said MILE is a high-impact, experiential learning opportunity that aims to create problem solvers for the agriculture industry.

“The MILE Program uses industry engagement, networking, and hands-on experiences to prepare students to be impactful leaders and qualified professionals when they enter in the workforce,” she said. 

During the next three semesters, MILE students will participate in regional agriculture tours in the Rio Grande Valley, the Panhandle, and the southern plains, as well as trips to Austin and Washington, D.C. to meet with government representatives about agriculture and public policy. Students will also participate in professional and leadership development workshops and service-learning activities. 

MILE students enroll in three academic courses focused on the personal, service and community aspects of leadership and are required to complete a professional internship. Each student receives a leadership certificate upon graduation from the program.

With 42 MILE graduates since 2019, Kennedy said the program is developing young leaders who can go into industry with the training and experiences necessary to address the big issues facing agriculture and rural America.

MILE Program members go through an extensive application and interview process and are selected by the MILE advisory committee, which is comprised of agricultural industry representatives and Davis College faculty and staff. 

The following students were selected to represent the fourth MILE cohort:

• Cash Campbell, ACOM, Idalou, Texas
• Paola Castro, ANSC, Brownsville, Texas
• McKinley Corbin, ANSC, Sanger, Texas
• Kyndal Edwards, ANSC, Sudan, Texas
• Faith Geistweidt, AAEC, Fredericksburg, Texas
• Ryan Hess, ACOM, Stephenville, Texas
• Kyra Holt, ACOM, Saint John, Washington
• Ashlynn Messer, FDSC, Lubbock, Texas
• Makayla Miles, AGED/ACOM, Goldthwaite, Texas
• Kollier Miller, LA, Panhandle, Texas
• Caroline Munson, ACOM, Shallowater, Texas
• Madilyn Riley, ACOM, Richards, Texas
• Rowly Sandoval, ANSC, La Feria, Texas
• Kate Sauder, ACOM, Lubbock, Texas

CONTACT: Lindsay Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Practice & MILE Program Director, Department of Agricultural Education & Communications, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-8240 or Lindsay.Kennedy@ttu.edu 

0214NM24 / Editor’s Note: For more information about the MILE Program, please click here  

PHOTO CAPTION: Members of the fourth cohort of the MILE Program will participate in the three-semester leadership and professional development experience January 2024 through May 2025. (Back row standing, L to R) Ryan Hess, Kyra Holt, Kollier Miller, Faith Geistweidt, Cash Campbell, Kate Sauder, Rowly Sandoval, and Paola Castro. (Front row seated, L to R) McKinley Corbin, Kyndal Edwards, Makayla Miles, Ashlynn Messer, Caroline Munson, and Madilyn Riley.