In November, several Sustainable Food & Farming alumni joined incoming freshmen & transfer students on Zoom to discuss “life after graduation”. These alumni represent the many different directions one can go with this major! The panel discussed their current work and what stepping-stones they took to get there, what their days look like in their current jobs (hint: varied! And hard to pin down!), and what strategies they use to overcome challenges in their field among other things.

Watch the highlights from the conversation here!

Meet the panelists: 

Jordan Lake (she/her): Currently a coordinator with the Student Farmworker Alliance, Jordan works with students/youth who want to organize in solidarity with migrant farmworkers. While in SFF Jordan was particularly interested in agriculture education, permaculture, and food justice. 

Will O’Meara (he/him): Will works with Land for Good, a group working on issues of farmland tenure, as the Connecticut Field Agent and recently co-founded Hungry Reaper Farm. Will’s area of focus in SFF was production.

Rob Carney (he/him): Rob came to SFF interested in holistic health and focused on the human side of farming. He now runs his own health coaching business, hosts a podcast, and writes children’s books on mindfulness. 

Megan Saraceno (she/her): Megan works with Grow Food Northampton as the Administration Manager and a Community Engagement Coordinator for their farm to school effort, though she emphasizes that part of non-profit work is being a little involved with everything. Megan focused on agriculture education and food access while a student in SFF.

I try to be honest with prospective Sustainable Food & Farming students when they ask me about careers in the field. This path isn’t very linear, nor does it guarantee a starting salary of $70,000. From alumni, colleagues, and friends working in food & farming, I know that it is hard but meaningful work. There are many opportunities in sustainable agriculture and food systems. There are jobs that have yet to be created…maybe by you?! The work each of these alumni are doing (and many more alumni not in this video…stay tuned for more!) makes our food system and our world a better place!

Thanks to Isadora Harper and Morgan Reppert (SFF Students) for support with this video & post.

-Sarah Berquist

Program Coordinator & Lecturer, Stockbridge School of Agriculture