Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Braggs.
Hi Kayla, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Atlanta (a self-proclaimed Georgia Peach if you will). I am the oldest daughter to Kira Harris-Braggs and Hassiba “Hassy” Braggs and the older to Leila who just started her freshman year at Hampton University. I am a third-generation HBCU attendee which is a badge I wear with great pride. My parents attended Hampton, my grandparents met at Virginia State University and my grandfather attended Howard University School of Medicine, and both my parent’s siblings attended HBCUs). While at FAMU, I was EXTREMELY involved. I was a four-year member of the FAMU student Senate, a member of the Honors College, a Presidential Ambassador, Orange and Green Tour Guide, FAMU MANRRS Parliamentarian and Historian, USDA 1890 Scholar, Food Science Club Fundraising Chair, and a Spring 2021 initiate of the REAL Beta Alpha chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. I recently graduated from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) this past April with a degree in Food Science and minor in Agriculture business, Summa Cum Laude. I am currently a first-year Masters student in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resources Economics (AFRE) at Michigan State University.
Needless to say, I will be experiencing my first Midwest this year. If you were to ask me five years ago that I would be so involved in the agriculture industry I would say you were crazy. I originally came to college to study pharmacy because FAMU is the number one producer of black PhDs in pharmacy in the country. However, the semester before I graduated from high school I realized that pharmacy wasn’t for me. I wanted to find something that was science-based but still had room for creativity. I came across the food science program and it seemed like the perfect fit. What I soon realized was that it was in the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences (CAFS). I came in thinking that agriculture was strictly just farming when that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In these past five years, I have traveled across the country, been in rooms with cooperate CEOs, held a national officer position for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS), and even pursued not one but two degrees in debt free all because of agriculture.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the biggest challenges first getting past the negative or the perceived connotation that comes with agriculture. I cannot count how many times people have asked me “do I want to be a farmer?” every time I reveal my major falls in the agriculture industry. And, especially as African Americans living in the south, there of course is the dark cloud that looms from the history of the Deep South. And from that this means that there is not a lot of representation in this industry by people who look like me. In my graduate department, while it is extremely diverse, I am the only African American on both the graduate student and faculty roster. So while it is amazing to get these new experiences, I have to be “the first” in more ways than one. I often have felt the pressure that comes with being “the first” because you want to be the best you can but you also want to be THE best so that it doesn’t ruin the opportunity for others in the future.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In the Agricultural, Food and Resources Economics Department, there are three distinct tracks: Environmental Economics, Development Economics, and Food &Agriculture Economics, which is my specialty. My research focuses on producers’ willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept (WTA) sustainable production practices in the livestock industry and how this can positively impact the domestic supply chain. For now, my thesis might be centered around producer adoption of regenerative grazing practices in Michigan and other midwestern states.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
For all of the accomplishments I’ve experienced, I’ve had just as many missteps. Along the way, I have just come to the realization that it doesn’t matter how scared I am about pursuing an opportunity, it doesn’t matter how many people are going against me, and it really doesn’t matter how hard the road may be, the worst I can here is “No”. I’ll never know if I don’t try and even if I fall flat in my face, the rejection is just a redirection for the path I am truly meant to be on. That mentality has allowed me to be resilient and not let too many things stand in my way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @itsme-kaylab
- Twitter: @itsme-kaylab
