Story by Bridgette McAuliffe, Staff writer

Photo by Julie Boeker/The News

A Murray State student completed an internship working in the office of a state representative in Washington D.C.

Cassidy Neal, senior from Murray, participated in the James Comer Congressional Agriculture Fellowship Program for six weeks this summer.

Neal said Comer is the former Kentucky commissioner of agriculture and working in congress allows students to experience a new part of the agriculture industry.

“I had never been super exposed to the political side of the agriculture industry so it was a new way for me to figure out if I was interested and to share my experience with students,” Neal said.

Comer represents the first district of Kentucky, which is where Murray State is located. Neal was given the opportunity to not only complete traditional intern tasks – answering phones, communicating with constituents, etc. –  but she sat in on briefings and conversations with the agriculture committee.

“One of my favorite conversations I got to listen in on was about cryptocurrency,” Neal said. “I had heard of bitcoin, but I didn’t know anything about it. So, I went to a briefing where I was able to hear how the agriculture committee has jurisdiction over that.”

While she was completing her internship, Congress was in the process of passing the Farm Bill. Comer was named to the conference committee.

“It was basically trying to get a compromise between the House and the Senate versions,” Neal said.

Comer was also working on issues that directly affect western Kentucky. Neal said Land Between the Lakes has a huge carp issue, with the invasive species jumping into boats, causing dangers and overpowering the other fish.

“We’re seeing issues in the fishing industry in LBL and while that may not necessarily be your typical farming, it’s still a portion of the agriculture industry that we were focusing on,” Neal said.

She said the House of Representatives was also looking at legislation to make hemp farming legal again.

“We have [hemp] here at Murray State that we are researching,” Neal said. “We’re trying to figure out if it’s a viable option for Kentuckians to start producing again.”

She said her favorite part of the internship was working with constituents from Kentucky that came to Washington D.C. to speak with Comer.

“Some of them were just your everyday farmer, some were companies and some were professors from a variety of universities,” Neal said. “It’s interesting to think that Congressman Comer is representing the entire first district, whether that’s your first generation farmers or research companies trying to find other uses for tobacco.”

Neal said opportunities like these are stepping stones to get students where they want to be.

“Murray is the biggest city I’ve ever lived in, so it was great for me to get out of my comfort zone and realize that things are very different everywhere,” Neal said. “Having the courage to at least try for a program like this is important to instill in our students.”