MANRRS, which stands for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences, prepares a diverse pool of students to become leaders in agriculture-related fields.

The mission of the national organization, founded in 1984 on the campus of Michigan State University, is to promote academic and professional advancement by empowering minorities in agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences. A few of the opportunities the organization offers are networking, learning leadership skills, and providing a community of like-minded people.

Mississippi State University is home to one of many MANRRS chapters across the nation and has two doctoral candidates in leadership positions nationally and regionally. Christien Russell, an MSU doctoral candidate, is the Region III Graduate Student vice president. Shandrea Stallworth, also an MSU doctoral candidate, serves as the National Graduate Student president for the organization.

Russell, who is a part of the Agriculture and Extension Education doctoral program at MSU, became involved in MANRRS during her senior year at the University of Kentucky under the leadership of Dr. Quentin Tyler of Michigan State University, who currently serves as the advisory board chair for the national MANRRS organization.

Related:Farm Progress America, September 9, 2019

A place in agriculture

“At the time, I was in the College of Agriculture, but didn't really know much about agriculture. I grew up in inner city Louisville, Ky., and didn’t have a background in the field. MANRRS connected me with my degree in agriculture, and it gave me a better understanding of agriculture, why there's a need for it, and why we should pay attention to it,” she said.

Stallworth, a five-year MANRRS member and fourth-year doctoral candidate in Weed Physiology and Plant Genetics, has also served as a regional graduate student vice president for the organization and shares Russell’s passion for MANRRS.

“I feel like MANRRS helped me find where I belonged in the world of agriculture,” she said. “If I hadn't been exposed to the individuals I met throughout the last five years, I feel like I would be lost. I wouldn't have been exposed to different people in the industry or to the multiple intersections of agriculture.

“The organization has also helped me develop many essential skills such as getting over my fear of public speaking and the importance of a strong mentoring team.”

Dr. Derris Devost-Burnett, a meat scientist and muscle biologist in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at MSU, has been involved with MANRRS since he was an undergraduate and credits his involvement with MANRRS as his means to professional development.

“I started here at MSU as an assistant professor in 2015,” he said. “I originally got my bachelor's and master's degrees at Tuskegee University. Then I got my Ph.D. at Auburn University, and then I received a postdoctoral fellowship at Kansas State University. MANRRS has been a part of that journey the whole way.”

When Burnett was an undergraduate student at Tuskegee University, he was active in the MANRRS chapter. However, when he went to Auburn University to continue his education, there wasn’t a chapter at Auburn.

“I, Dr. Brenda Allen, and Michelle Coal basically restarted the Auburn University chapter because it had gone dormant at that point. Because MANRRS was a vital part of my journey, it was important to me to restart the chapter,” he said. “We had our ebbs and flows in terms of success as a chapter there, but we left it in good hands where they were able to continue to thrive as a chapter.”

After attending Auburn, Burnett went to Kansas State where he was a co-advisor of the MANRRS chapter, and he got his postdoctoral fellowship through MANRRS. Also, while he was pursuing his Ph.D. program, he served as a national MANRRS Graduate Student vice president.

“I always credit MANRRS as a big part of my professional development and helping me secure various positions post-graduation,” he said.

Impacting students at MSU

Since he started working at Mississippi State University, Burnett serves as a co-advisor for MSU’s MANRRS chapter while also serving as the chair of the national MANRRS Alumni Committee.

“I try to encourage students to participate in the organization, so that they can experience similar successes and have similar networking experiences like I was able to have by being a part of MANRRS,” he said. “I participated as a student, as a national officer, and as a co-advisor as well as a chapter president at Auburn. Because of all the different perspectives I’ve experienced in the organization, I know the responsibilities involved, but I also know the benefits.”

“We're probably one of the largest minority groups in agriculture, and we produce a couple hundred graduates a year who are going on to do great things in government, industry, and academia,” he said.

MANRRS benefits

Burnett says that a few of the skills the organization teaches include professional development, networking tools, and leadership.

“The biggest thing that the organization means to me personally is being able to network with other like-minded people who are interested in and passionate about agriculture,” he said. “MANRRS also allows you to step outside your comfort zone and build on your weaknesses, so that you can be a more complete candidate for whatever career aspirations you might have.”

At the time that Burnett started working at MSU, the chapter had dwindled, but between him, Dr. Scott Willard, Dr. Kevin Hunt, and the recruitment of graduate students like Stallworth and Russell, they reinvigorated and reestablished the chapter.

“Despite it still being a relatively small chapter, we are very impactful on a national level,” Burnett said. “In the last couple of years, we've had several students win awards at the national conference — out of 50 universities — in terms of research competitions, public speaking competitions, and the contest which decides the theme for the organization for the entire year of service. We take pride in the fact that we’re small but mighty.”

Besides competitions, the national conference allows members exposure to relevant industries sponsoring the conference such as Land O'Lakes, which has recruited a few MSU students for internships.

“MANRRS is about professional development and career-ready preparation by giving 21st Century skill development, so that our students are able to hit the ground running after graduation,” Burnett said. “I think the biggest thing this organization offers, though, is comradery.”

While Burnett, Russell, and Stallworth all had different experiences with the organization, all had stories about how MANRRS was a means to improving themselves, their career, and overall, the industry of agriculture.