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From my first week at the Noble Research Institute, I’ve been growing and taking care of several flats of Setaria viridis, more commonly known as green foxtails.

Half a year ago, I received the call. I was heading to Oklahoma, a place that I only knew through the stories of my grandmother. She grew up in the oil fields of the Southern Plains. Her dad moved the family from town to town, oil rig to oil rig, during the same time that Lloyd Noble was building his reputation as one of the best drilling contractors in the area.

Recently 12 interns and three willing Noble employees embarked on a voyage to the bustling streets of Bricktown, an area of downtown Oklahoma City, Okla. As we drove to our destination in a caravan of white vehicles, I wondered what adventures were in store for us.

Oklahoma changed my life by showing me agriculture on the other side of the country, and Noble gave me a compass to help point me in the right direction. Now it's dependent on how I utilize these resources that will determine my future.

As I began the summer here in Ardmore, I didn't comprehend the experience I was about to have. I was able to work alongside some of the most influential ranchers north of the Red River and had the opportunity to understand the ranching way of life.

My high school cross country team always said we ran because putting one foot in front of the other was about all we could manage. Well, there's some truth to that saying, particularly for me. The numerous times I've tripped while running hurdles is proof enough.

Dirt, better known in agriculture as soil, is a structure held together by a network of roots and a media plants sustain life from. Last week, children from the Communities in Schools program learned more about agriculture through the eyes of a soil scientist.

Growing up, agriculture was symbolized by cattle, the hard work of my grandparents and the wide open spaces of northwestern Colorado. Today, as a Lloyd Noble Scholar in Agriculture, agriculture is being presented on a much larger scope and with a deeper significance that is no longer limited to just cattle.

The sun breaks over the shrubby horizon, warming the Oklahoma landscape and setting the sky ablaze with the vibrant pinks and oranges of dawn. On the slight ridge that overlooks the cattle pastures of Oswalt Ranch, the cowboy surveys the fields from atop his trusty steed, a green four-wheeler ... wait a second! What happened to his horse?

The mob grazing project for the Lloyd Noble Scholars in Agriculture came as a blessing for the early birds in our group, but a rude awakening to the night owls.