Genesis Day One
Thursday, August 20, 2026
Submitted by: Frances Graves
KARL Class XVIII kicked off their first seminar by attending the 11th Annual Kansas Governor’s Summit on Agricultural Growth at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan.
This annual event is a terrific gathering for ag leaders from across industries and Kansas and provided excellent networking. This year’s theme was transportation and infrastructure, centering on the logistics, networks, and infrastructure required to move Kansas agricultural products from farm to market.
Highlights included an ag executive panel featuring Justin Gilpin (KS Wheat), Chelsea Good (KARL Class XII, KS Dairy Association), Terry Holdren (Kansas Farm Bureau), Nick Levendofsky (Kansas Farmers Union), Kaleb Little (KS Soybeans), Josh Roe (KS Corn), Tim Stroda (KS Pork), Matt Eagarden (Kansas Livestock Association) and Adam York (KARL Class XVI, KS Sorghum) as well as remarks from Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Kansas Senator Jerry Moran.
As the Ag Summit concluded, Class XVIII transferred to Kansas Wheat where KARL Board of Directors Member Dr. Bill Brown delivered welcome remarks and the class reacquainted themselves.
Dr. Colene Lind, K-State Associate Professor and advisor for the Institute of Civic Discourse and Democracy, delivered a session exploring the psychological concept of egocentrism, the inherent cognitive bias that prevents us from accurately perceiving the world from another’s perspective. Through a mix of empirical data and interactive demonstrations, the discussion highlighted why “mind reading” is a skill that must be intentionally practiced rather than an intuitive ability.
Dr. Lind shared that humans are significantly overconfident in their ability to interpret the thoughts and feelings of others.Research demonstrates that we can only accurately infer the thoughts of strangers about 20% of the time. While we perform better with general groups (colleagues, partners), we are often “less than chance” at predicting how a specific individual perceives our likability or capabilities. In long-term romantic relationships, partners do not necessarily become more accurate at reading each other; they simply become more confident that they are right, leading to a widening gap between perceived and actual understanding. This bias can have high stakes, such as Neville Chamberlain’s misplaced trust in Hitler’s promises based on a personal meeting, despite clear evidence to the contrary.
The mechanics of egocentrism indicates that we are “prisoners of our own brain and senses,” defaulting to our own perceptions and projecting our emotions onto others. The session concluded with actionable strategies for leaders and individuals to mitigate egocentric bias:
After Dr. Lind’s presentation, the KARL Class transferred to our evening networking social and dinner event. Nearly 30 friends & fellows of the KARL Program joined Class XVIII that evening at the Midwest Dream Car Collection, which was a fun networking venue and perfect spot to dine together and learn from our keynote speaker, Dr. Pat Bosco, former long-time Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students at K-State. Dr. Bosco’s energetic remarks focused on the mechanics of authentic leadership, the importance of legacy, and the strategic identification of informal influence. The talk emphasized that authenticity is fundamentally an act of service and that effective change agents must master the systems they intend to improve.
Key points discussed included that effective leaders do not assume people understand how change happens. Before attempting to “move the needle,” a leader must master the specific processes—whether in local government, school districts, or corporate committees—that govern impact. Bosco likened this to testing the water temperature before a shower rather than jumping in blindly.
Dr. Bosco discussed how our “brand” is not a slogan; it is a promise of how someone feels when interacting with an organization. Bosco noted that K-State’s brand shifted from “affordability” to “welcoming and friendly” when federal and institutional shifts made the promise of affordability no longer authentic. Leaders must ensure their brand remains grounded to avoid insincerity.
The evening remarks also previewed our “Kings & Kingmakers” framework coined by Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh through the lens of a college recruiter. Dr. Bosco spoke of the importance of identifying gatekeepers (The “Lions”) and how informal influence often carries more weight than formal titles. Bosco highlighted the need to find the “gatekeepers” – the ag teachers, religious leaders, or respected peers – whose approval determines the success of a proposal. In recruitment, K-State focused on these “lions” (influential juniors) knowing that winning them over would naturally bring others.
Finally, Dr. Bosco argued that the answer to organizational growth is retention, not recruitment. Satisfied current members or students are the most effective recruiters. Authenticity is proven by how a leader treats those already within the “circle of safety” rather than focusing solely on external promotion.
After a generous Q&A with our speaker and additional networking conversations post-dinner, the class caravaned again at sunset from Manhattan to Rock Springs Leadership Lodge in Junction City to check-into rooms and prepare for the next day’s activities.
Genesis Day Two
Friday, August 21, 2026
Submitted by: Carrie Lance
We began our morning with breakfast in Williams Dining Hall at Rock Springs Ranch. Sharing about our lives over mealtime is one of my favorite ways of getting to know one another. It was nice to get to visit with many different members in the class as we fueled up for the exciting adventures that awaited us.
Back at Leadership Lodge, Johanna Anderes set the bar high, taking on the role of Chair for the day. After a brief introduction from her, I introduced myself to the class, serving as the day’s scribe.
Johanna kicked us off with our Brown Bag biographies where each class member presented three items representing their backgrounds, professional paths, and core values.
Johanna – raised on a farm near Paola, KS. Originally intended to pursue a non-agricultural career, even considered becoming a nun) before falling in love with agricultural education. She spent seven years as a high school ag teacher in Chapman before transitioning to her current role at the FFA Foundation to balance family needs. She likes to celebrate others’ successes (candle), maintains strong faith and a love for travel (holy water from Ireland), and embraces the chaos of raising two boys (WWE Wrestler).
Ryan – a family-focused father of three and proud grandfather who has been married for 25 years (family photo). He serves as the Executive Director for the Community Foundation of SW Kansas and is a pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Dodge City. He is deeply rooted in faith (New Testament) and finds balance through hobbies like hunting and bowling (bowling trophy).
Matt – a fifth-generation Kansan with a degree in construction management. Matt spent 11 years in commercial construction before moving into public works and infrastructure (water pipe) with the City of Pittsburg. He is dedicated to community impact and recently returned to his agricultural roots by starting a sheep farming operation.
Ann – grew up on a ranch between Perry City and Rocky Grove; her career has been entirely within the agriculture sector, including a master’s in beef science and a career at Cargill. She is passionate about the cattle industry (fair ribbons), which is a central part of her family life. She is persistent and resilient, which was reflected in a story she shared about suffering a serious concussion after being kicked in the eye (eye doctor sunglasses) by a steer at the fair, demonstrating the risks and toughness associated with cattle farming.
Andy – raised on a farm where the family built their own furniture and structures. He is a professional engineer and builder who maintains a personal woodshop to unwind. His Catholic Faith (rosary), family (photo), and craftsmanship are a few of his key values. He shared that his goal is to remain active for his grandchildren.
Annelle – operates a full-time farm with her father. They grow everything including wheat and milo and also have cattle. She balances a legal career with active farming and a side beekeeping business. She takes pride in agricultural production (ear tags) and entrepreneurial spirit (honey & beeswax products).
Heather – based in Manhattan, Kansas, Heather values family connection and intellectual curiosity. She uses reading and travel to decompress, recently visiting Wyoming and Kentucky to explore locations from her favorite books. She values her close relationship with her mother and brothers.
Jenna – Senior cattle sales rep for Merck Animal Health. Jenna shared her love of family time at the lake and the importance of spending time together. She loves to go boating and surf. In addition to spending time with family, her time at home wouldn’t be complete without her dog.
At this time, we took a break from the brown bag biographies and prepared to head over to the low ropes course at Rock Springs Ranch, where our team hosts, Diego and Alu, led us through several team-building challenges. In the opening activity, we introduced ourselves, shared what we were most excited about, and identified values essential to cohesiveness throughout the day’s activities. Communication, both verbal and non-verbal, trust, empathy, and patience were among the top themes. Taylor introduced us to the HERO framework (Honesty, Empathy, Respect, Open-mindedness).
Once introductions were complete and expectations were set, we jumped right into the challenges. We participated in The Human Knot, Hula-Hoop Relays, Tarzan Swing, and the balance board. Each team’s communication and problem-solving skills were stress-tested at various points in each activity.
After a short debrief about frustration management, leadership fluidity, finding loopholes and working smarter, not harder, we moved onto the swinging log and wire balance challenges. In the log challenge, each team member needed to cross the log to the opposite side and remain balancing on the log until every person was on. This proved to be a test of physicality, persistence, and patience.
To complete the wire challenge, a pair of associates each had to balance on their separate wires and carefully slide from one end of the wire to the other, helping each other along the way. This challenge was very difficult and took a great amount of concentration, leg and core strength.
We wrapped up the ropes course activities with a team Tire Tower challenge. Racing against the clock, each team worked together to remove a tire from each of two tall posts without letting it touch the posts. The activity required communication, strategy, and collaboration as teams relied on one another to successfully complete the challenge. Cole’s height proved to be a significant advantage for his team.
I really appreciated learning more about my classmates through team challenges. We saw competitive personalities arise, watched leaders emerge, and learned to trust and follow each other’s lead when challenges needed a clearly defined leader. We listened to one another, gave plenty of suggestions, tried various methods, and persevered!
After thanking Alu and Diego for their awesome leadership for the activities, we returned to Leadership Lodge to cool down and continue with brown-bag biographies.
Sydney – was raised on an angus ranch in North Dakota before moving to Kansas for graduate studies. She brought a rosary representing her Catholic faith and family values, and a belt buckle from her youth in rodeo. She spoke about how rodeo taught her how to lose, work hard, and overcome challenges, which she views as a few of her strengths.
Jessica – was raised on a dairy farm, but is currently a hog farmer and 4-H Youth Development agent for K-State Extension. She shared a photo of her husband and three children Evelyn, Jase, and Patton. She values hard work and community. She also spoke about the success of her family’s market hog as a point of pride.
Sarah – first generation off the family farm; professional focus is on bridging gaps in rural healthcare. She believes healthcare is a foundational pillar for rural community growth. She identifies as a lifelong learner and uses reading to stay grounded.
Zach G. – focuses on family and personal hobbies that balance work and life. He uses cabinetry and home renovation as a creative outlet and enjoys golfing for social connection in his free time. He spends the majority of his time with his two children, one of whom recommended that he bring a gun so he could share his love of hunting with us! Thank you, Zach, for leaving that item at home!
Hayden – a fifth-generation farmer involved in a family operation near Johnson County. He brought a pocket knife and spoke about its essential role as an accessory for every farmer. He is a strong proponent of regenerative agriculture and soil health, helping transition the family farm to no-till and cover crops. He also spoke about his interest in country music.
Nate – founder of High Point Farms (CBD Salve) and owner of a full-time construction business, currently working on a historical restoration project, aligns his work with rural development goals. He spoke about his faith being a central focus in his life and shared a brick featuring a bison on it to represent attacking problems directly by heading into the storm.
Kyler – raised in McPherson County, Kyler is an avid K-State fan. He attributes K-State as the place where he developed his work ethic and spiritual growth. He showed us a piggy bank of the McPherson County Courthouse that his grandfather designed to share about his legacy as a commissioner and sheriff. This has led to his interest in rural policy.
Caroline – International agriculture development specialist with experience in Ethiopia and Nepal. She serves as the board chair for the Congo Initiative. Caroline spoke about the healing power of water (Gulf Coast) and the importance of a global worldview (brochures from international travel and a French pastry bag). She advocates for agriculture and politics to ensure global food security.
We ran out of time for the remainder of the brown-bag biographies and decided to head to lunch and complete them at a later time.
I AM…CARRIE (pause) LANCE. Molly Crowe, presenter of Dale Carnegie’s “Connecting with Others,” led us through exercises focused on building professional relationships. We practiced mastering first impressions through introduction techniques such as Pause, Part, Punch, learned frameworks for name retention, including mental imagery and connection using mind pictures, and used structured approaches to high-stakes networking. She provided a visual sequence for mixers and conferences and how to engage with others (introduction, common ground, challenges, success stories, reciprocity, and graceful departures). She gave advice for those who find large networking events overwhelming, suggestions on how to overcome their fears using intentionality to meet two or three people rather than working the whole room, having a wingman who is more extroverted to handle initial introductions, and doing an environment check to avoid corners or positions where you can become trapped.
Our next session opened with Coach K’s video sharing his approach to coaching the US Olympic team and how he brought together individual superstars to form a collective team unit. Empowerment was encouraged vs. delegation to provide a sense of self-worth and ownership. Eye contact and truth-telling were non-negotiables. Trust is built through immediate, respectful honesty, specifically in regard to player performance. Leaders of teams must visualize success for the team and describe exactly how it will feel to reach the goal.
We processed the video and discussed team culture with Melissa Bergkamp (President) and Luke Thornton (Senior VP) of Harper Industries. Luke spoke about the company simplifying nine confusing values into four actionable traits. They used a plus/minus system to evaluate employees against the 4 core values during annual reviews. Authentic, Humble, Trustworthy, Driven. Melissa emphasized that “clear is kind and kind is clear,” and sometimes directly informing employees of their perceived character traits in the organization provides the necessary shock for character growth. They both discussed the company’s quiet philanthropy and its donation of 10% of profits to charities. Rather than billboard marketing, they focus on practical, rural support such as donating AEDs and soccer goals.
After much discussion on building team culture, it was our turn to create our unique KARL Class XVIII identity. We brainstormed together at team tables and shared out our ideas on chart paper. Many of our themes focused on authenticity, (open-mindedness and speaking hard truths), engagement (be present and curious), growth (inspire everyone to continuously improve KS), and having a team/family environment. We did not have time to finalize our identity statement, but a committee was formed to present one to us at the next seminar session in November.
Once our sessions were over for the day, we returned to Leadership Lodge, where we were joined by KARL Staff and fellows for a wonderful BBQ dinner provided by Mary Ann and Kevin Kniebel, Barb Downey, and Joe Carpenter. KARL fellows Lauren Moylan and Megan Anguiano sponsored beverages for everyone to enjoy while we networked together for the evening.
Genesis Day Three
Saturday, August 22, 2026
Submitted by: Matt Bacon
A final look at Genesis: The unofficial theme for the day reflected on “Identity”
The morning began with the completion of the “Brown Bag Biographies”. Overriding theme of the class majority from the activity reflected a deep connection between Faith and Family. This really identified Who we are as individuals.
Moving into What we are individually, the group transitioned into discussions regarding “The Four Tendencies” by Gretchen Rubin. Initially individuals gave their evaluation and perceptions of the course material.
The class then divided into their specific tendency groups. Upholder – Meets outer expectations, Meets inner expectations. Questioner – Resists outer expectations, Meets inner expectations. Obliger – Meets outer expectations, Resists inner expectations. Rebel – Resists outer expectations, Resists inner expectations.
These groups reflected upon their own attributes to their tendencies. Continuing the class then engaged in candid conversations between each group’s tendencies and their nuances. I would be remiss if I didn’t specifically mention fireworks and firearms which provided for group amusement.
After lively discussion around “The Four Tendencies”, conversations resumed from the previous day concerning the Why and How of our specific class. Due to time constraints, the affinity mapping exercise led to the classes first sub-committee to finalize the activity. This will set the theme and tone for Class XVIII.
Concluding the morning Jill reviewed how to show up for KARL. Be Thankful & Engaging (and ON TIME). The class debriefed the weekend and discussed future travel and expectations. Frances will be sending out information for “Tell Your Story”.
The next seminar will take Class XVIII to Southwest Kansas in November.
