My name is Deanna (Reid) Sumners, and I graduated from Ferrum College in 2013 as a member of the Boone Honors Program with majors in Agribusiness, Horticulture, and Spanish. I met some of my closest friends in my Honors classes. One of my favorite parts of being an Honors student was attending many Honors Program outings to Broadway musicals, dinners, and other local events. I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to take Honors courses that introduced me not only to new classmates and professors but to new ideas and information as well. During my time at Ferrum, in addition to being part of the Boone Honors Program, I was actively involved in the Agriculture Club, Farm Bureau Collegiate Young Farmers & Ranchers Program, and Spanish Club.
After graduation, I spent 2 1/2 years working as a greenhouse grower at Riverbend Nursery in Riner, VA where I managed 74 greenhouses and grew 2000-2500 varieties of plants. I then transitioned to working with Virginia Cooperative Extension as the Extension Master Gardener Coordinator for the New River Valley. In 2017, I moved to Manhattan, KS to pursue a master’s degree in Agricultural Communications & Education at Kansas State University. Though I greatly enjoyed living in and exploring Kansas, upon completion of my degree, I moved to Blacksburg, VA, got married, and now work for the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Office of Communications and Marketing as a Digital Content Specialist. A large part of my job is managing social media for Virginia Tech CALS, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and Virginia 4-H, which has been a great networking and learning opportunity.
I am grateful for all of the experiences I had while I was at Ferrum College and am especially appreciative of the opportunities that I was able to take part in through the Boone Honors Program.
