Ben Marshall’s love of Mizzou has shaped his life. While at a Mizzou basketball game just before he started high school, he told his dad he wanted to be Truman the Tiger.

“Dad said ‘yeah, that fits,’” said Marshall. “I’m a sport fanatic, I love Mizzou, I’m a third-generation graduate, so I knew the best way to enjoy sporting events was either as Truman or on the sidelines, and I got to do both.”

During his freshman year in FFA the students wrote their future goals on a card, and his card, which he still has today, said “become Truman the Tiger.”

Even as a junior in high school when he was being recruited to play basketball at smaller colleges, he told his high school coach he knew he wanted to go to Mizzou and become Truman.

“Something that FFA really instilled in me is setting goals, and then in CAFNR if you set your goals, CAFNR allows you the opportunity to go achieve them, and it puts you in a position to win,” he said.

Marshall went on to become a Missouri State FFA Officer during the 2001-2002 school year and, when he completed his year of service, he achieved his dream of becoming Truman. During his time in CAFNR, he was also heavily involved in organizations like CAFNR Student Council, Ag Ed Society, Collegiate Farm Bureau and CAFNR Week Steering Committee, in addition to working part-time his sophomore year giving market reports and doing interviews with Brownfield Ag News, and working at Sanborn Field on campus for four years.  He stayed at Mizzou for five years, in hopes of returning to the NCAA tournament as the tiger after his first year. While the tournament dream didn’t come true a second time, his time as Truman did lead him to shooting a commercial at ESPN, walking the Red Carpet in Hollywood, being a part of the National Championship with Truman and, most importantly, meeting his wife, Kim, who was a Mizzou cheerleader.

During his last homecoming, Marshall wanted to propose to Kim on the field, but was told by the athletic department that he would only be allowed to do so if he was in the Homecoming Top Ten. Never one to back down from a challenge, Marshall made the Top Ten, and Kim said yes. They now live in Jamestown, Missouri, on his family’s Century Farm, where they raise their three children, Addison (14), Hannah (12), and Landon (8), and cattle.

“She was not a CAFNR grad,” Marshall joked about bringing his St. Louis-native wife home to the family farm. “I just got lucky meeting her. I make sure to tell people she called me first.”

After graduation, Marshall went on to work for the Missouri Corn Growers Association, teach high school agriculture, and then worked in pharmacy sales. He credited his father’s wisdom and his CAFNR experience with his ability to change careers for a time.

“My dad always said ‘just treat people like people, that’s what they want to see,’” said Marshall. “And in addition to that, I think the thing that CAFNR gave me was the ability to talk to everybody, because agriculture touches everybody. And it didn’t matter when I went into pharmacy, I could still tie it back to the farm and what I learned through it.”

Marshall later decided he wanted to get back to the agricultural industry, and now works for the Food and Drug Administration in produce safety as a produce program specialist within the Office of Regulatory Affairs (soon to be Office of Inspections and Investigations) and works with over 30 states and territories.

When a CAFNR Alumni Association board position opened for his region a couple of years ago, he knew he had to get involved. Marshall was part of the first sponsored student team in the CAFNR Tiger Classic golf tournament and has played or volunteered with the tournament almost every year since then. Last year he served as co-chair of the CAFNR Tiger Classic Committee, and this year he is the chair.

“This opportunity allows me to give back, especially since I received the alumni scholarship myself for several years,” he said. “It means a lot to me and I know the importance of raising money to go back to the students with the cost of everything these days, especially higher education.”

Marshall would also encourage CAFNR students to get involved with the alumni association for the huge network of agricultural professionals to connect with.

“Networking is so important; who you know is important,” said Marshall. “You can learn what you need to do in any occupation. I went from ag to pharmacy and I knew nothing about pharmacy, but I knew that people that knew it and I knew who to ask. And now I’m working in the FDA, one or two levels removed from very intelligent people who are making decisions for the whole country, and I don’t need to know everything, but I have to know who to go to to get that answer. I think joining the CAFNR Alumni Association allows you that perspective to find out where people are working, who they’re working with, and their knowledge to tap into as you also reconnect into personal relationships with people who are also passionate about CAFNR.”

He is also passionate about his faith and serving his local community. The Marshall family is involved in their community by helping another former CAFNR grad, Seth Rohrbach, to run the Jamestown Community Youth Group, where high schoolers from all the Jamestown churches and surrounding communities meet on Wednesday nights during the school year and go on mission trips in the summer.

“Seeing lives change with the Lord is a feeling you just can’t describe, and we are blessed to be able to help be a part of that with so many youth,” said Marshall. “Love the Lord, love people, and it’s easy to love agriculture if you can do both of those things.”

“My kids are eighth-generation farmers, and I think when you’re in CAFNR it goes beyond just being raised on the farm but goes to having those roots and acknowledging their importance and what agriculture allows you to do, and that means the world to us. Agriculture is everywhere and you can be a part of it, even if it’s just a small part, if you’re engaged in it.”