Seedling oysters from an aquaculture setting, seen at Rappahannock Oyster Co. Before I started my current position, and really until this seminar, I was unfamiliar with the Northern Neck. Its name described a vague area and geographical outline, and I was unaware of the qualities that deemed it the Northern Neck region. On this seminar,… Continue reading Spat on a Shell and Life on the Bay
On September 26th, 2024, VALOR Class VII kicked off our orientation in Blacksburg. At the same time, Southwest Virginia would experience the wrath and aftermath of Hurricane Helene. A place you would not imagine being touched by a hurricane was upended from flooding, resulting in loss of life and property and a long- but resilient-… Continue reading Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone: Southwest Virginia and Its Steadiness in a Changing World
To prepare for our fourth seminar (time flies when you’re having fun!) we were asked to watch Simon Sinek’s TED Talk, “Start with Why”. He described how successful businesses, leaders, social movements, etc., more so focus on the “why” or purpose when communicating their products, organizations, events. “Why” is central, whereas “how” and “what” are… Continue reading What, How and Why: Where do you start to make the most impact?
One of my favorite shows growing up was Friends, a sitcom following six adults and their day-to-day antics. In one episode, now made into viral memes, Ross recruits Rachel and Chandler to move his new couch up flights of apartment building stairs. Sketch in hand with no concrete plan, Ross says, “follow my lead” and… Continue reading In the words of Ross, “PIVOT!”
I grew up about 25 minutes outside of Washington D.C. and almost always our class would attend a yearly school trip to one of the museums downtown- ugh, another trip to the Smithsonian?! When family and friends from across the country or around the world would visit, we would usually take them boating on the… Continue reading Seeds, Swine and the Shore
My name is Marie Schirmacher and I sometimes consider myself relatively new to agriculture. After graduating college, I was an admissions advisor for a few years. While I traveled to high schools and spoke with students, in the beginning I would ask “what do you want to do when you graduate?”. (I later realized this… Continue reading It’s not dirt, it’s soil: my journey to soils, agriculture and leadership
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