OPINION: From the beach to the bush, one youngster’s love story

As I looked into the audience, almost 1000 of some of the best in the sheep and meat industry, I couldn’t help but wonder “how on Earth did I get here?”.

Only two years earlier I had been in my home town of the Gold Coast, known for its beaches and theme parks, not sheep.

Yet here I was, standing on-stage and accepting an award as a 2018 LambEx Young Guns winner. Like many, I had always had a passion for animals.

My “I want to be a vet” phase lasted from the age of six to 21.

I realised in my first year of university the job market for palaeontologists was rather slim, and I had to be realistic.

I always wanted an animal career, and I wanted to make a difference to society. I wanted something that would constantly challenge me and never leave me bored.

Through a series of fortunate events, at the age of 19, I left my family and my childhood home near the beach in Queensland to move to Perth to chase my dreams of being a veterinarian.

I think it’s fairly common for young people to want to leave a positive imprint on this world.

We strive to prove ourselves as worthy and exceptional, yet long for a sense of belonging in society.

I wish I had been taught in school you didn’t necessarily need to become a doctor or a lawyer to achieve this. I wish they had taught us you could find a way to make a difference in agriculture.

In Year 8, we watched a Jamie Oliver documentary about caged chickens.

I went home thinking I had discovered the “truth” about where our food came from and believing it was “truth” that society had hidden from us.

I was determined to make a difference by becoming s vegetarian.

My mother refused to cater for my phase, so it never succeeded.

In my entire 12 years of schooling, that Jamie Oliver documentary was all I was taught about where our food came from.

My goal change from veterinary to agriculture was slightly terrifying — after all, I hadn’t wanted to change career paths since Year 1.

But thanks to studying Animal Science at Murdoch University, an agricultural based degree which is often used to transfer into veterinary science, I fell in love with the agriculture industry, the people within it, and the lifestyle.

The agriculture industry welcomed me with open arms, and I was suddenly exposed to a million windows of opportunity.

This was an industry so broad, and forever changing. How had I not known about this?

I wondered why the agriculture industry had been portrayed as only about farming, and as something that did not require additional education or science.

Why had a career in agriculture been portrayed as something not achievable for someone growing up in a city, or rather, something you would not want to achieve?

Agriculture didn’t just give me a career, it gave me a home.

It gave me family, across the nation. It didn’t care where I came from, or my lack of experience.

It just saw my attitude and readiness to jump in and learn, and it was willing to teach me.

Pursuing a career in agriculture taught me about where my food comes from, about the land and what lives on it, and about the history of Australia.

I have learned agriculture is the backbone of the nation, and what keeps the country running.

I will forever be grateful, and no matter where I end up, I will pass on this legacy and teach it, for it needs to be told. I am now a bridge between city and country.

Jamie Nykiel is a recent graduate of Animal Science at Murdoch University.