Hireabuckeye
Downturned economy, free career services tool helps alumni stay on top
Whether fresh from graduation, entrenched in a career, or heading toward retirement, alumni with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences have access to an invaluable resource to help them stay on the cutting edge of the workforce.
The Hireabuckeye program is a webbased career services tool that provides job postings, company profiles, interview requests, resume information, and career expos and workshops only for CFAES alumni and current students--for free, for life, accessible anywhere in the world, at any time.
"Hireabuckeye is a great place to start a job search, or simply to upload a resume. It helps to narrow your job search and gives you more options, especially for careers related specifically to our college," said Adam Cahill, Ohio State University career services coordinator for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. "And the best part is it's free. Other job search sites may charge you a fee to get access to job openings."
The Hireabuckeye program was launched in 2001, and since then more than 3,000 employers have registered on the site, with over 6,500 jobs listed. Users can search for information by major, location, company name, internship, seasonal, full-time status, or other criteria.
While nearly 85 percent of the over 4,500 registered users are students and graduating seniors, alumni only represent a fraction of registered users.
"A lot of alumni don't know that we offer this service, although we have seen an uptick in registration from alumni in recent months," said Cahill. "Once they know that it's here, I think more people will use the site as a resource, especially during the current economic downturn."
To learn more or to register for an account, log on to http://cfaes.osu.edu/career.
-- Candace Pollock
Big day on campus
The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences offers several college visit days hosting potential students. Join us!
Saturday, Feb . 20
Experience ATI @ATI campus (all majors)
Saturday, March 27
BASE (Buckeye Animal Science Experience)
Day (Department of Animal Sciences)
Saturday, April 17
Pre-Vet Day
Saturday, April 24
Experience ATI @ATI campus
(for high school juniors)
In addition, "Experience OSU for a Day" visits are offered any day on which we have classes. Learn more and sign up at http://www.cfaes.osu.edu/visit
Course helps students fine-tune leadership skills
Leadership attributes can be useful for anyone, whether holding a management position, participating on a cheerleading squad, or volunteering at a local church. But learning how to become a more effective leader can be a challenge.
A course offered through the Department of Human and Community Resource Development is designed to help students assess their leadership strengths and to hone their leadership skills that can be applied to any life situation. And it has attracted students from across campus.
"Whether in our jobs, churches, schools, or other situations, we often find ourselves in positions where we need to exert a leadership influence. However, many people do not necessarily see themselves as an effective leader," said Robert Birkenholz, a professor in agricultural and extension education. "The purpose of this course is not to 'certify' students as leaders, but rather the education and training is provided to help students better understand the elements that can contribute to improved leadership."
Although countless leadership courses are offered across Ohio State University's campus, what makes "Fundamentals of Personal and Professional Leadership" (Agricultural and Extension Education 342) unique is that it's one of the few courses on campus that teaches leadership principles and theories that can be applied across various personal and professional spectrums.
"I used to give the generic answers of, 'I'm a good speaker,' or 'I've been president of my FFA chapter,' until I took 342," said Dustin Homan, an agricultural leadership major from Kettlersville, Ohio. "This class felt almost like an independent study course where the professor and curriculum were solely dedicated to the personal leadership of Dustin, and only Dustin, and not dictated by some textbook. This class helped me discover my innate and unique strengths, develop my personal leadership philosophy, and set short-term and long-term goals."
Ohio State University students beyond the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences are also recognizing the value of the course and working it into their curriculum. The class has attracted students from pharmacy, engineering, and social and behavioral sciences.
"Students often ask, 'Do I need to know this?' And they take the course and a light bulb comes on and they realize that they can use what they are learning in their personal and professional lives," said Marlene Eick, an OSU student services coordinator who taught the course on the Agricultural Technical Institute campus in Wooster last year.
The AEE 342 course is one of the foundational leadership courses that will be included as part of a proposal for an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Leadership Studies. The minor will be open to all students across the Ohio State campus.
-- Candace Pollock
No. 1 in the country
CFAES Ag Comm chapter sweeps national awards
Ohio State University's chapter of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) is proud of its recent successes-- and the awards that go with it.
At the 2009 National ACT Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, last August, the 20- student organization won the Outstanding Chapter of the Year award (for the second straight year) and awards of excellence in educational activities, fundraising, social activities, leadership, and membership.
"We are the first school ever to sweep all the categories and also win the national chapter of the year award," said advisor Emily Rhoades, an assistant professor of agricultural communications in the Department of Human and Community Resource Development. "ACT's achievements over the last two years have made me very proud. I'm excited that people across the country are getting to see what great ag communication students we have here at Ohio State."
One of the chapter's most successful and recognized programs is the Ag Comm Bootcamp for high schoolers, which helps connect the college with prospective students.
The national recognitions also impact recruitment.
"When we are at recruiting events, these awards assist us in showing parents that the skills our students are learning are helping them to be the best in the country," Rhoades concluded.
Learn more at http://act.org.ohio-state.edu.
-- Mauricio Espinoza
Did You Know?
The CFAES Student Council was named as one of the university's Outstanding Student Organizations in 2009 by the Ohio Union and the Office of Student Life.
