CREMONA - A local resident has been named valedictorian for the Olds College (OC) class of 2017. Mackenzie Argent is thankful for having had the chance to grow up in a rural area and go to school in a small town.
"I've been there my whole life," Argent told the Gazette. "I've always lived there. My mom went to Cremona School and my grandmother used to teach there. It's kind of a generational thing. I went there. My brother and sister currently go there."
Argent lives on the family farm, which is just northwest of Cremona. She enjoyed growing up in a small place because of the sense of community.
"I liked the people the most," she said. "Everyone in Cremona is always so willing to help out. It really illustrates the whole, ëit takes a village' idea. My parents were pretty active in the community as were my grandparents. It was like growing up in a big family."
Argent graduated from Cremona School in 2015 and went to Olds College for the agricultural communications and marketing program.
"I wanted to be a vet before I decided to go into agricultural management," she said. "I really had a passion for public speaking through 4-H and excelled at it. I started to get more involved in the agricultural conversation about consumer versus producer educational gap."
Argent wanted to be able to educate people on where their food comes from and how it's produced.
"I chose Olds because I grew up in a smaller town and went to a smaller school and I didn't want to be just a number," she said. "I like the smaller side of things. I think it worked out well for me. I got to make a number of changes at Olds College through the student association. I really got to contribute as opposed to just being a student ID on a campus."
Argent was also happy to be close enough to home to be able to see family, friends and the farm.
Growing up, 4-H was a big part of Argent's life. She was a member of the Cremona 4-H Club where she learned public speaking.
"I was in it for seven years," she said. "4-H is an amazing program. There are no words to say just how valuable it is to kids. I did a lot of public speaking; multi-judging; I was the vice-president for a year. I learned governance."
Argent enjoyed her two years at Olds College. She said it's much more enjoyable to get up early for a subject like animal sciences rather than for subjects like algebra.
"I really liked it," she said. "I finished with good grades and I learned a lot. I made some friends for life."
After graduating from OC, Argent stepped right into a position at an Italian foods company in Balzac as a marketing and sales coordinator.
"I got the position after MCing the Olds College fundraising gala," she said. "The owner of the company saw me MC and then we talked afterwards at a networking event. That summer I ended up interning with the company. After I graduated they offered me this coordinator position. It's a career opportunity with agricultural roots, but I get to really work on my sales and marketing skills as well as pursue my passion for communication."
Argent was named valedictorian, along with fellow student Emily McKinnon, after applying and being chosen by the students' association.
"We speak on June 3rd at the graduation," said Argent. "You have to have a 3.0 GPA or higher and submit an essay about why you should be valedictorian. After that there is an interview process."
Argent told the Gazette she's excited about giving the valedictorian speech but is not nervous.
"I love public speaking," she said. "I'm really honoured. I'm really excited. I just want to leave a good impression on everyone."
