Applications for MARL Class XI Being Accepted

Published Friday, March 27, 2020

Olga Reuvekamp

The application deadline for Class XI of the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership (MARL) program is April 24, and program Executive Director Olga Reuvekamp is anticipating another outstanding group of ag leaders when the class kicks off its 18-month cohort in November, 2020.

Class X marked the 20^th anniversary of MARL program. “Each class brings a new dynamic to the program. It is exciting to find new people who can become involved in MARL from different aspects of the industry. Each class has its own unique, diverse culture,” said Reuvekamp.

Class XI will hold its first session in St. Cloud in November. Other sessions will be spread out across the state, giving participants a first-hand view of the different types of agriculture and ag-related industries in Minnesota.

Other Class XI sessions will be held in Marshall, Crookston and Duluth, along with sessions in northern, southeastern and central Minnesota. Each MARL class also spends a session at the state Capitol in St. Paul, as well as an international study tour. Graduation for Class XI is scheduled for April 8, 2022.

The Class X study tour was in Cambodia and Taiwan.

Thirty applicants are selected for each class, and application forms can be found here: http://www.marlprogram.org/application-forms/.

In addition, there are two “How to Apply” webinars on March 31 and April 7. Information on how to access those can be found at: http://www.marlprogram.org/.

A selection committee will personally interview each applicant the final week of May and first week of June, at one of five locations. “That way the applicants won’t have to travel very far for their interview,” said Reuvekamp.

“The common thread that we have found, in conducting our exit interviews for each participant, is that the MARL Program has been life-changing,” said Reuvekamp.