CANR Alumni Association recognizes young alumnus

March 01, 2016

Alyn Kiel, an alumnus from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, will be recognized with a Young Alumni Award by the CANR Alumni Association. She will be honored during the ANR Week Luncheon set for March 8 at the Kellogg Center.

While a student at MSU, she was an active member of the CANR Student Senate and Leaf Club. Currently, Kiel serves as the senior advisor for the U.S.Department of Agriculture Strategic Communication Department. One of her duties is speechwriter for Tom Vilsack, the secretary of agriculture.

Kiel also developed targeted messaging for high visibility topics such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the passage and implementation of the 2014 Farm Bill. She served as a mentor for two MSU CANR students with internships in Washington, D.C., during summer 2015.

Kiel has devoted a great portion of her life to volunteering for several organizations to create a better world for the people around her. Currently she serves as a community garden member and volunteer in the Washington, D.C., area, as an FFA alumni member, as sponsor of a child through Children International and a farmers’ market food donation gatherer.

Kiel is a graduate of Michigan State University (MSU) with a major in agriculture and natural resources communications. She served as the 2006-2007 Michigan FFA state president, where she was a talented leader of that state officer team. While serving as a Michigan FFA alumni officer, Ms. Kiel was able to create a system that improved the efficiency and profit of the annual FFA auction and increased the amount of scholarships for FFA members to attend the Washington Leadership Conference. Kiel also worked hard to create an agriculture, food and natural resources communications minor at MSU.