Friday, January 26th, 2018
Celina native's ag heritage pays off
Bachelor wins poster contest
By Tom Stankard
Submitted Photo
Evin Bachelor, a Celina native and third-year law school student at The Ohio State University, stands beside a poster he made for the American Agricultural Law Association's annual education symposium in October. He won the poster competition and was able to establish connections across the country.
LOUISVILLE - Celina native Evin Bachelor, 25, tapped his rural roots while creating his winning entry in a national poster competition.
By growing up in rural Ohio and having family members involved in agriculture, the third-year law student at The Ohio State University said he is well aware of the legal troubles facing farmers.
With that in mind and after talking to his advisers, Bachelor said he knew his focus for the American Agricultural Law Association student poster competition - the potential for Ohio to become one of the last Midwestern states to engage in the U.S. Department of Agricultural mediation program.
Program manager Chester Bailey said on mediateeverything.com state mediation programs help producers settle disputes with the USDA within their financial means.
Going into the contest, Bachelor said he didn't know what to expect. He certainly didn't expect to win and come back with nationwide connections with people involved in the mediation program.
"For me, to learn about how successful the program has been elsewhere, it made me wonder why Ohio doesn't have one. Ohio should build a program," he said.
Ohio is one of only 10 states not to have accepted USDA funds to start a program, Bachelor said.
For the contest, students were asked to submit a poster and a short video presentation explaining their project. He competed against several other law students from across the country.
The contest allowed students to "demonstrate their understanding of an agricultural law topic and their ability to relate that understanding to an audience of professionals from private practices, governmental agencies and academia," according to the AALA's website.
Instilled with small-town values, Bachelor said he knew he wanted to help others by pursuing a career path focused on public service.
"It definitely helped instill a hard-working mentality and gave me a good perspective on the value of friends and family," he said.
His positive attitude was put to the test his first year of law school when his dad, Rick Bachelor, a former Celina city councilman was diagnosed with cancer and died shortly after.
"Having the support of my community and family in Celina helped me be able to continue and get where I am today," he said.
Bachelor said he is excited to graduate from law school in May, although the impact hasn't fully settled in yet. Bachelor said he plans to take the bar exam in the summer and hopes to find a job back home.
