Merrick Irvin grew up in the small town of Godley, Texas. Growing up on a small farm, Merrick quickly found his passion for agriculture. At his childhood home, his family raised whitetail deer and exotics, managed a wildlife ranch, and owned & operated a feed company. In high school, he was heavily involved in FFA and Debate. FFA helped fuel his passion for agriculture where he learned more about the role agriculture plays in day to day lives. In debate, Merrick competed in “CX Debate” where he studied and argued various positions on policy. It was in debate, that his interest in policy began and brought him to applying for this internship. As a rising junior at Texas A&M University, Merrick is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science as well as working on his Meat Science Certificate. Currently, Merrick represents the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as an Ambassador where he serves the college by providing a student perspective to the college and he interacts with prospective students, alumni, and donors. Additionally, Merrick has competed on the Texas A&M Wool Judging Team and currently competes on the Texas A&M University Meat Judging Team. This gives him an opportunity to compete on a collegiate level with other universities from across the country. In his free time, he is an active outdoorsman and enjoys making dog chews and antler art through his company Aggie Antlers. Merrick intends on pursuing a career in the meat industry, ruminant nutrition, or agriculture policy. Postgraduation, Merrick seeks to pursue further education in an agriculture related field. Merrick looks forward to working under the National Association of Wheat Growers in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2019.