Texas A&M student Lee Thornton joined the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) as the spring policy intern. Lee Thornton grew up in Winnie, Texas on a calf-cattle ranch where he first became invested in the agricultural industry. This background led him to pursue an Agribusiness major with a minor in Economics.
At Texas A&M, Thorntone is heavily involved in volunteering and giving back to the community through the Alpha Phi Omega service organization. Thornton spent the summer of 2023 in Manhattan, Kansas working on research in soil conservation and nitrogen rate levels with Kansas State University. In this internship, he broadened his understanding about the challenges facing the wheat market.
Over the course of his NAWG internship, which concludes in May, Thornton has been involved in numerous visits to Capitol Hill, NAWG's winter meeting, Commodity Classic, and policy work related to the Farm Bill and appropriations process.
"I have looked forward to potentially working in Washington, D.C. since I was a freshman in college and to say I am grateful to NAWG for the opportunity to work on agricultural advocacy would be an understatement,” said Thornton. "I can't wait to be back in D.C. once I graduate and continue working on agricultural issues on the national level. This position has provided opportunities and connections that I don't believe I would have gotten anywhere else, and I want to personally thank NAWG staff for this experience."
"Lee has been a tremendous help in setting up for hill visits and NAWG meetings this spring," said NAWG CEO Chandler Goule. "We really appreciate his contributions to our team during the course of his internship and look forward to seeing where he goes from here.”
Thornton hopes to return to Washington, D.C., in the summer of 2025 to work on Capitol Hill, where he can continue advocating for agriculture issues and then pursue graduate school in the future.