Today’s students, tomorrow’s leaders; Devine Graduate Chosen to Intern in Washington, D.C.

By Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports Editor
From the pastures of Devine to the offices of the nation’s capital, 2023 Devine graduate Harper Parson recently began an internship in Washington D.C. through the Agricultural and Natural Resources Policy (ANRP) Internship Program at Texas A&M University.
Son of Chad and Carly Parson, Harper, a Animal Science senior, is one of 17 students selected to spend the entire summer as an integral part of the House Committee on the Agriculture-Majority Office. He will be monitoring legislation, attending committee hearings and briefings and preparing reports for senior staff members.
Stephanie Webb, director of the ANRP internship program, explains that this internship is one of the few in the nation that specifically focused on “transforming today’s agricultural students into tomorrow’s leaders.”
“Through this opportunity, students use what they have learned in the classroom in a professional work setting,” Webb said. “Not only will the D.C. experience be attractive to future employers, but our students are also providing valuable assistance to the officers in which they intern.”
The program is in its 36th year and has had more than 1,300 Aggies participate. Each student receives course credit for their internship as well as a scholarship in the form of housing, which is partly supported by private donors and commodity organizations.
Growing up in Devine, Parson already had an affinity agriculture and livestock from raising show pigs with his family. During his tenure as a Texas Pork Junior Ambassador, he was able to lobby on the behalf of the national pork industry, catalyzing his passion for livestock production while protecting its interests on the federal level.
Parson is involved with numerous organizations at Texas A&M, but his proudest achievements is competing in the 2025 National Champion Intercollegiate Meat Judging Team, as well as winning the 2025 Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging Conference. He also competed on the 2026 Meat Animal Evaluation Team and served as the Chairman of the Swine Committee, and serves as the Vice President of the Animal Science Ambassadors.
Congratulations to Parson on this incredible achievement!