Jessie and Derek Tribble were
married in October and reside in
Columbia.
SAMANTHA GIBSON TURNER -
NORBORNE
Samantha graduated from MU in
2016 with a B.S. degree in
agricultural education and
leadership, minor in agricultural
economics. After graduation, she
returned to MU to further her
education and this past August, she
Samantha Gibson Turner
received a Master of Science degree
in agricultural leadership,
communication and education.
After serving as a Missouri
State FFA officer at the beginning
of her college education, Samantha
continued her work with the
organization as a LEAD facilitator,
a HYMAX team leader and
volunteered at Missouri FFA
Convention. In 2013, she received
the American FFA Degree.
During her collegiate career,
Samantha was active in MU’s
CAFNR where she served as a peer
career coach and ambassador. She
also was involved in Sigma Alpha,
a professional agricultural sorority.
Additionally, Samantha was a
Missouri Farm Bureau Ambassador
during her collegiate career.
Having been selected for the
Dickinson and John Brown
Scholar programs, Samantha
explored agribusinesses throughout
the state.
Samantha experienced several
internships while in college that
she said helped enhance her
knowledge of the agricultural
industry. “My first internship was
with the Missouri Soybean
Association (MSA), working in
public relations and writing for the
Missouri Soybean Farmer
magazine,” she said.
In 2016, Samantha returned to
MSA as their biodiesel outreach
intern. She worked as a summer
intern at Missouri Farm Bureau
and Osborn & Barr
Communications, creating
promotional pieces to educate
audiences about the ag industry.
During the academic year, she
worked on MU’s campus in
CAFNR Career Services and as a
contractor, writing curriculum for
Vivayic.
Samantha was able to discover
agriculture in different countries
through a study abroad experience
in Europe, which took her to
Germany and Italy.
“In Germany, we focused
predominately on agricultural
systems visiting implement
dealerships such as Fendt,”
Samantha explained. “Overall, the
experience was a full immersion
into German culture, and showed
us how our agriculture differs.”
Samantha said the experience
in Italy revolved around topics
such as world hunger, food
insecurity, and food loss and waste.
Her journey took her to the
University of Bologna, The Food
and Agriculture Organization and
the International Fund for
Agricultural Development.
Currently, Samantha works as
the communications manager on
the food and nutrition team at
Monsanto. There, she’s responsible
for the development and
implementation of
communications strategies for the
team. She supports team
engagements through the creation
Samantha Gibson Turner (second from
left) and Ryan Messner (third from left).
HEARTBEAT | WINTER 2017 21