By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – Lethbridge Herald on November 22, 2024.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Kaylee Day Chief, director of sales at AdvancedAg Inc. talks to the media about her role in the careers session, offered to students in grades 7 to 9 to inspire women to pursue a career in agriculture Thursday at Lethbridge Vocational College.

LETHBRIDGE HERALD[email protected]

The Southern Alberta Collegiate Institute offered young women in grades 7 to 9 a hands-on career session in sectors vital to the regional economy at Lethbridge Polytechnic.

The Southern Alberta Collegiate Institute is a unique partnership between six school divisions, Lethbridge Polytechnic and two non-profit organizations to provide middle and high school students in southern Alberta with an opportunity to explore career paths online or on the Lethbridge Polytechnic campus.

On Thursday, nearly 80 students had the opportunity to explore a variety of careers possible in Alberta’s agriculture sector, participating in rotating plant and animal workshops and interactive equipment spaces, as well as hearing from women in the industry during a panel discussion.

Kaylee Day Chief, Director of Sales at AdvancedAg Inc. was one of the panelists and she spoke to the media after her discussion.

“I was asked to be a part of this event to share my journey in agriculture, how career paths are not always linear and how I came to be the Sales Manager for AdvancedAg,” said Day Chief.

She said she hoped that by sharing her story, girls would be inspired to join the agricultural sector as a career path.

“As a sales director, I see a lot of ag tech start-ups and women-owned businesses. So it’s really important to talk to young women about it because women bring a whole new and fresh perspective to an industry that hasn’t always been as accepting of women,” says Day Chief.

She said it’s great to see women starting their own businesses in Ag doing robotics and drone work, being soil biologists and just doing things outside the box that women aren’t normally seen doing.

“There’s a lot of interest from women and they’re also bringing these great ideas and technology to the industry. They’re solving a lot of world issues and challenges that we have specifically around food storage and safety,” said Day Chief.

She said they want to inspire young people to hopefully see that there is a career path outside of just being a farmer and agronomist when it comes to careers in the agricultural sector.

“I would say find what excites you, it might not necessarily be agriculture or agronomy, but maybe you really love animals, or you love technology and you really want to get into drone work or a robotics like I mentioned earlier,” said The Day Manager. “Just find what excites you and really focus on that and then try to tailor all your schooling and efforts to get you to that career choice.”

Ayla Mcllwraith, a Year 8 student from Coalhurst High School, said she took part in the experience because she grew up around animals and is interested in pursuing a career in the field.

“It’s a really cool experience, to actually see the things you do here and how you do it and to learn what careers I could go into and the steps to get there,” Mcllwraith said.

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