Michael Yeater, Hillary Henderson, Helen Kline, Clay Eastwood, Courtney Boykin, and Michael Berto

The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) Student Membership Board of Directors announced that 86 students from 13 universities attended the AMSA 2015 Student Leadership Conference in Springdale, Arkansas on March 13-14, 2015. Texas A&M University students who participated included Michael Berto, Courtney Boykin, Clay Eastwood, Hillary Henderson, Helen Kline, and Michael Yeater.

Students began Friday morning, March 13, with tours of the Cryovac and a Tyson poultry processing plant. After the tours, students headed over to the Tyson Discovery Center where Tyson’s food technologists and chefs shared their knowledge with student members that afternoon in a workshop setting to help students prepare for an Iron Chef competition the following morning.

Saturday, March 14, after the Iron Chef competition, the focus of the conference turned towards becoming a professional where Dale Carnegie training was incorporated concentrating on two main modules: handling mistakes and communicating to lead. This training was designed to impress industry professionals and provide the students with a competitive lead on internship and career opportunities.

The Leadership Conference is co-sponsored by the AMSA Student Membership, AMSA Educational Foundation, American Society of Animal Science, Merck Animal Health and Tyson Foods, Inc.