A pig empire is what Paul Friedrichs, ’92 Marysville High School graduate, had envisioned as his future while a student here.
But his 4-H and FFA farm animal projects ended up leading him to other goals and horizons — and he’s quite satisfied with the opportunities he’s had, Friedrichs told more than 200 junior high and senior high students, parents, teachers and administrators as the keynote speaker at the annual Kiwanis Scholastic Honors Banquet March 13 in the MJHS gym.
Friedrichs' studies in agricultural economics at Kansas State University were followed by post-graduate studies at the London School of Economics. He also visited Russia, Hungary and Mexico while in school. Later, his work and travel with his wife, Liz, have led them to parts of Africa, Asia, South America and Europe.
After working for other agribusiness companies, Friedrichs now runs his own businesses, United Mosquito and Fly Control and Friedrichs Construction in Kansas City, Mo., as well as a small farm operation.
He urged students to take advantage of opportunities that come up at school and to get involved in a variety of activities, whether business, the arts, agriculture or sports.
Friedrichs, son of Charlie and Betsy Friedrichs, Bremen, was a youngster when he bought his first pig and sold it at the Marshall County Fair.
“I knew right there I’d have a gigantic hog farm,” he said.
The pig project grew into a wider involvement in 4-H and FFA. Friedrichs was state president of FFA his senior year of high school, and the experience led to many other interesting adventures.
“I guess it’s because I said ‘yes’ and gave something a try,” he said, encouraging students to be willing to do likewise.
Friedrichs praised students for their hard work and teachers and parents for their dedication.
“This is really a great community to come from,” he said. “It really does support its students.”
He hopes to continue seeing more of the world. He and Liz took a chance, he said, and traveled to Tanzania a few years ago without having a plan, just the contact name of a person with a development project.
After a bumpy bus ride through the countryside, they arrived in an area where they could learn about the project’s micro-loans, school construction and other humanitarian projects.
“It gave us a look at what was going on in a very different part of the world,” he said. “The world is really a big place with lots of interesting things out there. I just want to see as much of it as possible.”
