Once students, Dane, BS ’17, and Bekah, BS ’04, Peck know the impact that donors can have on our College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) community. They’re committed to making sure students can have similar experiences and that CFAES can carry out its research mission.
Q: Tell us about your background. What’s your connections to CFAES?
Bekah: I am a second-generation Ohio State grad (shout-out to my Mama!), and a first-generation CFAES grad. Through multiple youth ag and leadership programs in our county, I learned to love the thrill of public speaking and enjoyed writing. My FFA Advisor/Uncle directed me to CFAES. I declared Agricultural Communication my major before move-in day freshman year and never changed it. I've worked in agriculture marketing or communications for 20 years.
Dane: I grew up in the woodshop of a family business in Coshocton, OH. Guitar picker, when my three-year-old (Porter) allows it. Beer brewer, when I have time to do it. Gardener, life is more colorful that way. Tree planter, because trees are my favorite. Daddy-o, that’s what Porter calls me. Husband of Bekah, the biological glue and ultimate-list-maker that keeps all parts of our lives in place and order. Also, Bekah is my connection to CFAES. I did not have an ag background; she did, and then she helped me identify that I wanted the same.
Q: What areas of CFAES do you support and why are those areas important to you?
B: Agricultural Communications Fund and also Waterman Controlled Environment Agriculture Research Complex Fund. I gained experience through Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) equally valuable to my coursework and I want to support those who choose that path now. I co-chaired Scarlet & Gray Ag Day over 20 years ago and saw the facility impact at that time bring awareness for a non-ag audience. The exposure and research importance of Waterman has increased exponentially in the two decades since.
D: The Waterman Controlled Environment Agriculture Research Complex Fund. As a student, I spent a lot of my time learning and working in the Howlett and Kottman Hall greenhouses, it was a great place for me to learn. Nearing graduation, I remember hearing about a new greenhouse that was to be built at Waterman Farm. I was a little envious but recognized the need. It is excellent to see innovative growth in agriculture at CFAES.
Q: What inspires you to give?
B: Through gifts from alumni I will never meet, I was able to study abroad and participate in ACT trips. Those experiences allowed me to observe and learn from the world around me, both near and far.
D: Discovery and evolution of knowledge.
Q: Besides giving, how else do you like to stay connected to the college?
D: I decided to improve my connection with CFAES and got a job here. In June of 2024, I began working at OSU South Centers. Working and learning here usually means getting dirty, and I love it.
B: Mainly now through Dane sharing things he learns through work and reading the CFAES publications. When we lived closer to Columbus, I volunteered to judge FFA and college events on campus periodically.
Q: In 10 words or less, tell us your favorite thing about CFAES.
B: The courage to be curious.
D: Learning never stops, and I get to use my hands.