Cultivating Success
It wasn’t until Leno was a high school FFA member and worked on a local dairy farm in Illinois before he thought agriculture would be in his future.
“I started scheduling ride alongs with salesmen at different coops in my hometown,” Leno said. “And that’s where I truly found a love and passion for assisting our growers and farmers out in the industry.”
Leno Caldieraro, an agronomy student graduating in December 2024, decided to come to K-State because of the quality of education and his desire to diversify his ag background, but also because of the people and environment that K-State holds. One of the ways Leno found his place here at K-State was in the Wheat State Agronomy Club.
“That’s where I got to be close friends with many people and we hang out after class” Leno said. “These friends allowed me to flourish and it’s these connections that are going to be lifelong connections that can help you down the road with your career.”
The Wheat State Agronomy Club is a diverse club with members from many different majors in the College of Agriculture. The club has social events like axe throwing and karaoke, professional development nights and opportunities to travel to the different conferences and contests.
“There’s a pretty decent sized group that goes to every event,” Leno said. “It’s always fun to get together with your friends.”
Leno says a great way to get involved in the club is to help with the club’s fundraiser, parking cars at K-State football games at the Agronomy North Farm, right across the street from the football stadium. “This is something you can learn a lot from and a lot of us are going to go into jobs that have people interaction, so this is a great way to practice in a safe environment.”
Leno has applied what he has learned in the Wheat State Agronomy Club and his classes to his internship with Bayer Crop Science in seed corn production and sales. He says he enjoys learning about a sector of the industry he has never seen before and the opportunity to get to know customers and assist them. Everything Leno has learned and been involved in has led him to want to pursue a master’s degree in weed science.
“I know I am prepared for whatever role or job I desire,” Leno said. “K-State has been above and beyond. I’ve been able to apply what I learned in the classroom out in the field.”