AESC Student Testimonial: Kristen Herrick

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08/14/2025 Added

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Kristen Herrick, graduate of the AESC program with a minor in Engler, has turned her FFA SAE business into a full-time direct to consumer pork business through the mentorship of faculty from both programs.

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[00:00:06.040]So when I was an incoming freshman,
[00:00:09.000]I heard a lot about the nuclear program.
[00:00:12.440]A lot of people recommended it to me as I had already had a business
[00:00:16.760]from my FFA essay in high school.
[00:00:20.160]And so they were they were pretty confident
[00:00:24.200]that I had an entrepreneurial mindset.
[00:00:27.000]And so they really encouraged me to look into this program
[00:00:30.640]and how I first, I guess got involved was
[00:00:34.880]by looking into it and then seeing the scholarship opportunities that it gave.
[00:00:40.640]And that is really what kind of set the tone of of me looking
[00:00:46.280]even deeper into it for Ag Communications, I was kind of on a different path.
[00:00:53.120]I came in
[00:00:55.040]in the leadership side of things.
[00:00:57.120]I wanted to go into extension and work for Nebraska extension.
[00:01:01.200]And so I started
[00:01:03.320]in the leadership side
[00:01:05.000]knowing that maybe that wasn't going to be the route for me.
[00:01:08.920]I kind of said that in place,
[00:01:11.920]but was open to other opportunities.
[00:01:15.000]And so I actually took a didn't member remember the class
[00:01:18.760]now, but I took an acting class knowing that I maybe wanted to explore
[00:01:23.280]this side of things and absolutely fell in love with it.
[00:01:26.560]I fell in love with the size, the curriculum, the involvement
[00:01:31.440]it still had with agriculture, even though we were learning.
[00:01:35.600]You know, you're in marketing and communication and journalism
[00:01:38.520]side of things.
[00:01:39.800]It still had such a strong hold on an industry that I was very
[00:01:42.960]passionate about.
[00:01:44.040]And so honestly, that's what really steered me in this direction.
[00:01:48.440]And after that class,
[00:01:49.800]halfway through my freshman semester, I decided to to change my major. And
[00:01:56.040]it's been the perfect
[00:01:56.880]fit for me since. My Engler business is KK Pork,
[00:02:00.360]where I sell pork from pigs that I've raised on my farm,
[00:02:04.680]very farm to table focused direct to consumer driven.
[00:02:08.960]And so the whole point of it is for consumers to know
[00:02:12.800]where their food comes from and know my story and know my passion
[00:02:18.280]because I want to provide a quality, safe product for my consumers
[00:02:24.600]while still sharing my story and advocating for the industry.
[00:02:28.440]You know, the biggest part of of, you know, selling a product,
[00:02:32.280]honestly, is once once you have the product made
[00:02:36.120]is the marketing aspect of things and really
[00:02:40.560]putting yourself out there to to get those consumers to buy it.
[00:02:43.920]And that's
[00:02:45.520]been super helpful in the sense of obviously that's
[00:02:48.680]the stuff that I learn in my courses through my major.
[00:02:52.640]But like I said before, it's very Ag focused, so I know how to
[00:02:56.880]I know how to communicate something to someone that
[00:03:01.280]is not educated
[00:03:02.440]on the subject specifically in the sense
[00:03:04.800]they don't know where their food comes from.
[00:03:06.440]They don't know all the agriculture ins and outs.
[00:03:10.080]And so I'm able to explain that better because I've learned in my courses
[00:03:14.600]specifically how to do that for this industry.
[00:03:17.280]And so being able to create content,
[00:03:22.920]be that genuinely that marketer for
[00:03:25.480]my business has been super helpful
[00:03:30.000]in the sense of I know how to design things and how to to create that content
[00:03:34.680]and do it in a way that I want to because it's my own product.
[00:03:38.960]So I'll be graduating soon and I will continue my business.
[00:03:44.080]I'm hoping eventually.
[00:03:45.720]I don't really have a timeline necessarily, but I'm hoping to create it
[00:03:51.000]into something that can be a full time business.
[00:03:53.880]Have a storefront where I sell
[00:03:56.560]pork that I've raised, obviously,
[00:03:58.840]and so as of right now, I'm I'm continuing to grow and hopefully soon
[00:04:03.560]I'm going to start making online ordering and shipping available.
[00:04:08.720]And so I think, you know, just continuing to grow and hopefully get to
[00:04:13.000]that point where I can have a full time storefront business is my goal.

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AESC Student Testimonial: Kristen Herrick

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