An oasis of creative writing and photography
The sun shows its face in quiet hours as crickets sing their melodies, billowing their wings in the breeze. A thick fog creeps over the ridges of Eastland County as deer come forth to feed. With squinty eyes, soft grins and coffee to accompany, Ag Comm Camp participants enter an oasis of creativity, stepping into the Promised Land of writing and photography.
Made possible by a generous gift from the 1687 Foundation, the camp offers agricultural communications undergraduate students a hands-on learning experience. Participants have the opportunity to explore creativity at no cost during their time at an off-site ranch.
Courtney Meyers, Ph.D., a professor of agricultural communications in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications at Texas Tech University and co-leader of Ag Comm Camp with Lindsay Kennedy, Ph.D., an assistant professor of practice in agricultural communications, said the short-term experience allows students to slow down and be present with their peers beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar confines of learning.
“The motivation for Ag Comm Camp came from recognizing that we lead hurried lives and often don’t take time to decompress or reflect,” Meyers said.
Kennedy added that the performative approach to life and academics often discourages students from taking creative risks.
“I think that’s been damaging to creativity because we’re always trying to hit a mark of some sort,” Kennedy said. “Creativity doesn’t have a shape; there’s no boundary to it.”
The foundation’s support, she said, removes financial barriers, namely the cost of advanced photography equipment, enabling students to focus on their craft without technical limitations. “Everybody’s using the same cameras, which, as an instructor, is a dream come true,” Kennedy said.
For senior Halle Munson, Ag Comm Camp helped her be more intentional with her creative process, minimizing typical classroom learning curves.
“Everyone has the opportunity to learn in the classroom, but not everyone has the opportunity to grow in the classroom,” Munson said.
Meyers leads the writing sessions at Ag Comm Camp and said the ranch inspires creativity.
“Being able to pull myself out of the day-to-day classroom environment and be embedded with these exceptional students is just so invigorating,” Meyers said, “and it reinforces why I’ve chosen to become a professor.”
Munson emphasized the deeper impact of the program beyond academics.
“You’re building relationships with your faculty and classmates that then turn into long-lasting relationships,” Munson said.
Kennedy noted that while previous camps emphasized portfolio development, the upcoming Ag Comm Camp will introduce one-on-one engagement with industry professionals.
“It might open up a job for somebody that will help continue to put us on the map as the premier program that tries cool stuff, that pushes the envelope on what education looks like,” Kennedy said.
She emphasized the opportunity to create these transformative programs comes from a place of heart, crediting the support of a dedicated department chair, dean, president, and provost, whose backing provides the necessary resources to sustain such initiatives.
“The sky’s the limit as far as what we can produce,” Kennedy said.