Alumni Spotlight

Name: Garrett Seltzer

Current Title: Beef Cattle Territory Sales Representative

Organization: U.S. Beef Business Unit at Elanco

Majors: B.S. Animal Sciences and Industry, Business Option ’20

 

Name: Jenna Seltzer

Current Title: Swine Technical Lead

Organization: U.S. Nutritional Health Business at Elanco

Majors: B.S. Animal Sciences and Industry, Biotechnology Option ’19; M.S. Applied Swine Nutrition ’21

 

K-State College of Ag is proud to recognize alumni from all departments who continue to pursue their passion in their respective fields. It is through experience that we continue to grow as individuals and stewards of the industry. Through those experiences, we hope to be a continued resource for the next generation of K-State students to lean on for advice and continue to build our network!

Why did you choose K-State?

Jenna: I grew up on a diversified farm in central Indiana, where my family had commercial sows and row-crops. As I was finishing school, being involved in FFA and 4-H, I knew the pigs were where my heart was at. I had zero desire to do vet school, but I have always had an interest in the nutrition side of things. My dad was involved in the swine industry back in Indiana. When I talked with a lot of the people he worked with, especially the nutritionist, Jack Kelley, said, “Well, if you have an interest in swine nutrition, you need to go to Kansas State.”

My mom had worked for a veterinarian, Dr. Justin Janssen, in Sheridan, Indiana, and he’s a K-State alumnus. So when Justin and his wife, Mary, retired, they moved back out to Kansas around the Alma area. So we had another connection there. My ag teacher at the time, Tyler Galloway, was also a K-State alum. So he put in the plug as well.

Growing up in Indiana, obviously, there's a pretty big ag school in West Lafayette, and that was my family’s tradition. I thought that was where I was going, but my parents urged me to at least look at one other school. So I was like, gosh, I’ve heard Kansas State three times, so I guess I might as well go out there and check it out, but it’s not gonna change my mind.

Then Dr. Justin & Mary Janssen took my mom and I around campus when I was a junior in high school on spring break. I really fell in love with the campus, the environment, and the people. So I took that leap of faith, then stayed at K-State in Manhattan for five years and met my husband, Garrett, there. It really pushed me outside my comfort zone, but K-State was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life.

Garrett: Growing up in Colorado, a lot of my family went to Colorado State University, but I was really looking to get out of the state for a little bit. The first time I found out about K-State was my freshman year in high school when our FFA chapter was traveling to the national convention in a yellow school bus. It was a pretty long trip, but one of our stops was in Manhattan. I wasn’t thinking about college at that point, but it stuck in my mind that when we got there at 6:30 in the morning. Everybody was very chipper, very nice, happy to see us and answered all of our ridiculous high school kid questions that we had about campus and college life. That experience kind of just stuck with me through high school. I did visit a few other colleges, but they didn’t have the fit I was looking for. The night before I was supposed to go on my campus tour, I was driving around town with my mom, and I just got this feeling like this town and K-State felt like home to me. The folks giving the tour the next day really set it in stone for me. I wouldn’t change a thing, and if I had to go back and do it again…I’d go to K-State again.

How impactful were hands-on experiences in your college education?

Jenna: I think something I really appreciated about K-State when I visited was how close the university farms were to campus. It gave us a lot of opportunities to get out onto the farm and have those hands-on learning experiences. For me in particular, I was an undergraduate research assistant for the swine nutrition group. I was out there anywhere from two to four days a week weighing pigs, taking blood samples, and/or fecal samples. I just don’t know how many other opportunities I would’ve had like that at a different university where those farms are 45 minutes away from campus. It was easy to help weigh pigs in the morning and still be on time for your 8:30 class. I also had the opportunity to have my own research project and present that data in undergrad as well. That ultimately solidified my idea that I wanted to go to grad school to study swine nutrition. I had those opportunities to really check it out beforehand and see if this was actually something I was interested in.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Garrett: There are a lot of great things about working at Elanco. If there wasn’t , I wouldn’t be working here. The people and the flexibility are great. The part I really enjoy most is meeting with customers. I enjoy meeting customers, making connections and establishing relationships. Just like other reps, I have my favorite customers I really enjoy visiting with, who are becoming more like friends than just business relationships.

We’re getting to know each other and each other’s families. It’s more than “I’m here to talk to you about XYZ products.”’ The same goes for the people within Elanco. I really enjoy working with everyone and making those connections.

What nontraditional experiences did you have as a student?

Jenna: Funny enough, that’s actually how we met. It was on a study abroad trip to Australia in 2019. There was a class that met once a week beforehand, and then we went on a two-week study abroad program over spring break. We lived a half mile down the road from each other for two years and didn’t make the connection until that trip. So that was an awesome experience getting to know people from the animal science program I’d seen or heard of but never really got to spend much time with. We have several friends from that trip that we’re still really close to and probably wouldn’t have interacted with otherwise. It was a great opportunity not only to do some sightseeing in Australia, like the Great Barrier Reef and the Sydney Opera House, but also to visit different parts of the animal industry. We got to go to a sale barn, a wool farm and a dairy. It was interesting to see the differences between the United States and Australia.

Garrett: This trip was something that my parents really encouraged me to do. They had some opportunities to do it while they were in college, but they didn’t take it, and they regretted it. I had the opportunity to travel abroad in high school, so it wasn’t something new to me. I really wanted to go to Australia, and it was just the perfect time to go. I think it’s a great offering that K-State has for students who don’t want to go to a new country for an entire semester. Opportunities like our trip mean sacrificing a Thanksgiving or spring break, but it’s a great experience and one you’re not going to regret.

What does being a K-State College of Agriculture alumni mean to you?

Jenna: In general, we are proud K-State alumni even though we are now in Nebraska. One weekend after we moved here, everyone was like, “You’re not saying ‘Go Big Red.” We responded, “No, you’ll never hear us say that; we’re going to fly our K-State flag proudly.”

Garrett: I told Jenna I was going to mow a power cat into the front yard. The saying that once you bleed purple, you always bleed purple stands true. I think that is a big thing for K-State, and not every college can say that. The alumni are extremely supportive of the university. We all really love to come back and be involved in the university.