For Jack Jungmann, a junior studying agricultural communications at the University of Illinois, participating in the NAFB Social Media Corps provided a behind-the-scenes look at the organization’s annual convention while helping showcase the event to a broader audience.
Jungmann, who grew up on his family’s eighth-generation row crop and cow-calf operation in western Illinois, says agriculture has always been a central part of his life.
That background, combined with a passion for storytelling, led him to pursue agricultural communications.
“I started doing photo and video work during COVID and turned that into a communications business,” he says. “That eventually led to a student internship with the University of Illinois athletic department doing photo and video work.”
Jungmann brought that experience with visual storytelling to the NAFB Social Media Corps at the organization’s annual convention, where student participants help capture and share highlights from the event across NAFB’s social media platforms.
“The way I thought about it was we were basically showing off the event and trying to get as many people to it next year as possible,” Jungmann says.
Along with fellow Social Media Corps members, Jungmann covered convention activities including Trade Talk, breakout sessions and networking opportunities.
“Everything you saw on NAFB social media during convention was us,” Jungmann says. “We had the opportunity to highlight the human interaction and the networking that happens there.”
Jungmann says attending convention also gave him the opportunity to build connections within the agricultural communications industry and learn more about potential career paths.
“It’s a great way to rekindle old connections and make new ones,” he says. “There are so many opportunities to talk with people in broadcasting, marketing or communications.”
Jungmann encourages other students interested in agriculture and communications to consider applying for the Social Media Corps in the future.
“I missed four days of class to attend convention, and it was absolutely worth it,” he says. “If you show initiative and want to be there, people in the industry are more than willing to talk with you and help you grow.”
Looking ahead, Jungmann hopes to continue working in agricultural communications after graduation.
“I just really have a passion for agriculture and communications,” he says. “I want to share that with the world.”
