Filed under: J840 Week 1, Science + Tech, Waste + Recycling | Tags: about me, accountability, beliefs, eco-friendly, education, environment, family, pharmaceutical, recycling, waste management
Rocky Mountain National Park
Childhood experiences, surroundings, and family values help shape our perspectives on life. Thankfully, I had a second chance.
This is not a complaint or regret towards the past. It is simply a show of gratitude for the significance that came after I left home at the age of seventeen. My family is built on generations of farming, small business, and Midwestern values. Unfortunately, intolerance and selfishness had a place at home as well. A vivid image exists in my mind as I left home to become the first in my family to attend college. Breaking the family circle meant exposure to new ideas and the consequences of personal choice.
Now, seventeen years later my experiences create new beliefs to replace childhood assumptions. Central to these experiences are interactions with both benevolent and injurious people that exert influence as their currency. Negative interactions generally taught the most. Lessons on integrity, personal accountability, and hard work frequently came at a high cost. Without that cost I wouldn’t be where I am today. The price was worth it.
My immediate family, a wife and three children, is my focus today. I see a world that needs leadership on the environment to preserve it for our families, our children, and our future generations. We need new perspectives on environmental topics such as waste management, recycling, and childhood education–a concerted effort to rewire the country’s philosophy. Instill a sense of personal accountability in young and old for the future of our environment at both a local and national level.
Or more simply stated…a second chance.
My twelve years since college have placed my feet firmly in the pharmaceutical industry. I began as a research chemist and later transitioned into sales. Currently I manage a team of ten sales representatives in Kansas and Missouri. I am interested in exploring greener options for the pharmaceutical industry and ideas where innovative scientific research merges with eco-friendly solutions. I envision an industry dedicated to preserving the environment while saving lives.
Jason Merckling
Filed under: About Us, Business + Politics, Energy + Climate, Farmer Stories, Food + Health, J840 Week 1, Society + Media | Tags: about me, agriculture, dairy, environment, food, Health, life long learning, personal sustainability, sustainable agriculture
“It’s never too late,” would be great lyrics for a song on my iPod these days. As I’m hitting the closing act of my fifth decade, my list of new experiences is growing quickly: learn new technology, acquire new eating habits, go back to school, get a job in a new industry, be a grandmother, and now becoming sustainable. It’s all happening to me. But no complaints here.
When I was born, there were no home versions of VCRs, let alone DVRs, or microwave ovens. I remember getting our first color television, and it certainly wasn’t flat. The idea that a home personal computer was even possible didn’t gain ground until I was in college, and we didn’t own one until our oldest child was entering first grade. If you mentioned the Internet and social media? You might have been considered a bit “teched.” So the idea that I am the digital communications subject matter expert in my current job is amusing to me.
A year ago, if I was making a list to describe my interests and passions, sustainability 
would not be among them. I grew up in a small Massachusetts town surrounded by incredible natural resources. (I often long for the times when I dawdled away my summer days on an ocean beach.) It gave me an appreciation of the things that sustainability stands for. But I would have to say my experience with sustainability is more awareness than action. Civic and social responsibility (causes that include people) has always been a part of my life. From the Girl Scouts to faith-based service to others, helping people and teaching my children to help people is a foundational principle in my life.
In my new job as a communicator in the dairy industry, I interact with people who are staunch advocates for the land and their animals. They bring the perspective of generations of experience. They are concerned about food safety and our health. And they want to do what’s right. I’m excited to be able to help them bring their stories to the public.