USDA Conservationist Sows Success With Online Master's Degree

University of Arkansas

Kylan Williams displays his framed diploma for a Master of Science in Operations Management during a stop June 25 on the Razorbug Diploma Tour in Lonoke as his co-workers celebrate. Kerry Melton of the College of Engineering presented the diploma.

Kylan Williams was one of four University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff students recognized by the USDA/1890 National Scholars Program when he was a sophomore in 2019. The scholarship came with an internship at an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Now, Williams, 26, works for the USDA covering five Central Arkansas counties as a team leader for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the agency he interned with as an undergraduate. He also found time while working full time to earn a master's degree from the University of Arkansas delivered online.

Williams lives in Pine Bluff, where he grew up. Farming operations were all around him in the region, but it was the internship that showed him opportunities to help farmers, he said.

"I saw the amazing work they were doing to be able to help our nation's farmers technically and financially," Williams said. "It was truly something good to witness. I did not come from a farming background. However, once I did my internship with them, I wish I had. The learning barrier alone was hard to overcome, but like anything you must work hard to be able to understand."

Williams chose the Lonoke office in his coverage area for his Razorbug Diploma Tour presentation. Kerry Melton, teaching assistant professor of engineering, presented Williams the framed diploma for his Master of Science in Operations Management. Co-workers joined in the ceremony at the start of the workday June 25 with the sun beating down already. The tour celebrates the accomplishments of graduates who earned degrees online without leaving their jobs, families and communities.

In his role as a resource conservationist for the past year, Williams works primarily with farmers who raise rice, corn and soybeans in Prairie, Monroe, Woodruff, White and Lonoke counties. Much of his work centers on conserving groundwater stored underground in aquifers, which are porous layers of rock or sediment saturated with groundwater.

"These projects focus on implementing irrigation reservoirs and irrigation tailwater recovery pits," Williams said. "Instead of using the irrigation wells, the farmers use reservoirs to irrigate their cropland. The unused water then flows into the irrigation tailwater recovery pit and flows back into the irrigation reservoir to use again later."

Williams visited the U of A campus several times over the past decade, starting with a trip for an ACT camp when he was in high school and most recently to walk at the U of A commencement in May. When he was looking for a graduate degree, the online coursework was convenient, he said.

"My planner was my best friend," Williams said. He used it to manage his time efficiently by incorporating school assignments with work and other personal responsibilities. "When starting something new, it can be hard to adapt your schedule to what you already had going, but it's very rewarding. You will be able to do things you do on a day-to-day basis and do something a little bit extra and get your degree. It will give you a sense of pride and make you happy that you were able to juggle many tasks and still get everything done."

He found a course on leadership principles to be his favorite in the master's degree program, Williams said.

"I learned new skills about how to be a leader and that there is more than one way to be a leader," he said. "Hopefully one day, I'll be a great leader for the USDA."

He also uses project management skills taught in the program every day as part of his job helping farmers follow management plans to increase efficiency.

Williams took a break one semester after his grandfather died but resumed the program without any problems.

"Things can slow you down but as long as you don't quit, you will be OK," he said. "The faculty and staff will work with you. They want the best for you."

The 2024 Razorbug Diploma Tour is in its third year. The 2005 converted Volkswagen Beetle with hooves, razor spine, curly tail and snout is the centerpiece of a ceremony repeated the past three summers in small towns across western, southern and eastern Arkansas.

The Razorbug was on loan from the Office of Admissions. Global Campus staff drove the Bug more than 2,100 miles to present 16 diplomas in 15 counties. Only two of the graduates earned bachelor's degrees. The rest were master's degrees and one doctorate. The U of A offers more than 90 degree and licensure programs delivered partially or completely online. In academic year 2024, the U of A awarded 1,013 online degrees and certificates.