Preston Pooler has found a way to put his study of agricultural business and his enjoyment of photography to work hand-in-hand with his family farm, but agriculture will be his career of choice.
A resident of Paris, Pooler is a junior at UT Martin, and he also works on campus as the photography and videography intern in the Office of University Relations.
Pooler said his proximity to the UT Martin campus was one reason he chose to study at UTM.
“My (high school) FFA chapter took us on tour here a lot because of UT Martin’s agriculture program,” he said. “The teachers were very friendly. Dr (Joey) Mehlhorn and – both agriculture instructors – really pushed me to come here. They just made me feel welcome.”
Pooler’s main career goal is to help manage his family farm, which was started by his parents, Jason and Tina Pooler.
“My parents own a sod farm; we grow grass to put on athletic fields and residential places,” he said. “My goal is to go back there and work with my brother and my dad.”
Pooler’s high school FFA adviser, Laura Moss, encouraged him to study agriculture, and it was his position as FFA reporter that got him interested in photography.
“My parents got me a camera when I was in ninth grade, and I just started taking photos of sports games and events,” he said. “It became a kind of a side business.”
Pooler has tied his photography skills in with the farm by utilizing drones to take aerial shots of the farm for advertising.
Pooler said that working the Office of University Relations has been important to him.
“I’ve learned a lot by working there,” he said. “Also on campus, my fraternity, Kappa Alpha, is very important to me. I’m the treasurer there; I’m also the philanthropy chair and social media chair.
“I just got elected as president of the UTM Collegiate Farm Bureau chapter – the first such collegiate group in the state. That group has helped me get good contacts outside of school. I’m also interning this summer in the Tennessee Farm Bureau communications department.”
Pooler is a first-generation student at UT Martin, and he said he is inspired by his father.
“He is very hard-working,” he said. “He kind of set that in me when I was really young, that when I start something, I need to continue with it.”
