Video begins with a student, Declan Barber, walking through the University of Guelph campus. He is wearing a blue shirt with a grey jacket and dress pants and has short dark brown hair. The video then cuts to Declan sitting in a lounge area with windows behind him, and a fireplace to his right. He is still wearing a blue shirt with dress pants, but no jacket. As Declan begins speaking to the camera, the video alternates between footage of Declan sitting in the room as well as footage of him traveling and working in several food manufacturing plants.
[Declan] Within Ag, there's so many different avenues that you could go down, whether it's science, whether it's business. There's huge opportunities with large companies, with small companies. The opportunities are endless.
My name is Declan Barber and I'm a Senior Relationship Manager with Farm Credit Canada. I graduated from the Food and Agricultural Business Program in the co-ops stream at FCC. I actually grew up in downtown Toronto. My grandparents farmed. I've always had a passion for food security. When I was finishing up high school, I knew I wanted to do something within business. I wanted to find a niche for myself. I work with your food and beverage manufacturing companies to hear what needs they have and to put together financing packages that meet those needs.
The OAC has provided a platform for me to be connected within the industry. My co-op experiences really gave me an initial exposure. For my first co-op, I worked for FCC, actually. I worked for a vertical farming startup in the Yukon, decided to come back to FCC for my final eight month term. They kept me on in my final eight months of school as a casual employee.
Immediately upon graduating, I moved into my new permanent role with FCC. Socially, it's important to get connected with your peers. The community within the OAC was great. It's a really well connected group that support each other.
[Video] cuts to a white screen with the University of Guelph and Ontario Agricultural College logos, and upbeat background music fades out.