"Run with it."

It's amazing how many wonderful resources schools have...that students never hear about. Students never seem to hear about the research grants, the unsung scholarships, the internships, and the job opportunities that often abound on college campuses. I recently found out about a wonderful opportunity, and I had a light-bulb go on over my head.

The Richter Grant. This research grant can be given to a student, or group of students, who are working with or independently of a professor or faculty member. It's an exclusive thing as my school, yet people don't seem to pursue it as strongly as they ought to. Maybe it's because it isn't heavily publicized. The grant can reach up to $5,000 and can be done in just about any field of study.

I'm going to apply for it. I mean, I need to make sure my plans would work out beforehand. I need to check with some connections in my field to see if the project would even be well-received. A rough outline is that I'd like to spend a few weeks travelling the U.S., meeting with agriculturalists and farmers about the ways in which social media has effected their personal lives, their operations, and agriculture in general.

Agriculture has become an increasingly popular topic on Twitter and Facebook. It's the place to be if you want to meet some tech-savvy ag folks. I'm going to take one of my passions, agriculture, and my career, media studies, and turn them into something worth noticing. At least, if all the tiny working parts fit together.

I pitched the idea to a few people on Twitter, and even a professor. They all said, "Run with it." While it was great encouragement to try and pursue this project, it made me aware of something deeper.

I'll never know whether or not I can get this project through, unless I try it out. I mean, it's a fairly-straightforward idea. I can't let the risk of being turned down scare me away from pursuing a great goal. Tenacity and fearlessness (with a hint of wariness) have gotten people pretty far in the past. Why should I be any different?

In other news, I'm still waiting to hear back on the interview I had last Thursday. If the news I get back isn't good, I'll put my chin up and keep going. Here's hoping things DO work out though!