Category: Undergraduate Students
CANR Career Fair
October 18, 2024 Written by Nya Wynn | Photos courtesy of Nicole Curran
At this fall semester's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) Career Fair, 30 diverse businesses gave students the opportunity to network with industry professionals and exposure to a variety of career fields.
Many participating employers were even UD alumni. This Blue Hen connection helped strengthen bonds between students and companies of interest.
Amber Rash, a UD Class of 2012 alumna and food and agribusiness marketing and management major, was at the career fair with Farm Credit, a company dedicated to helping farmers with managing the financial cost of running a farm.
“We do have a few UD alumni working with Farm Credit who work in a variety of departments, working directly with farmers,” Rash said. “We're always looking to recruit new college grads from UD so we have had this table at the CANR Career Fair for a long time.”
Students looking for jobs or internships in agriculture had no shortage of options, with companies like Perdue, Mountaire Farms and Dairy Farmers of America in attendance.There were also companies like Merck & Co. and Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research Inc. that appealed to the pre veterinary science majors.
Red Tail Restoration and Land Management, a local land management company that focuses on controlling invasive species on both public and private lands, was also in attendance. Evan McArdle, a Red Tail employee and current UD environmental studies major said the company is scouting for people passionate about the environment who “want to take a direct role and learn.”
“We are also looking for people with diverse interests and backgrounds,” he said. “For instance, if you’re in soil science and you can pitch why that expertise might help the total forest ecology, we’d be very interested in moving in that direction with you.”
Senior agriculture and natural resources major, Kaitlyn Bradley, was at the event looking to make connections with potential employers, learning what they do and what job opportunities they have.
“I am looking more into the animal side of the agriculture industry,” she said. “But with my major, I still have a background in the crop side of things, so I am really open to anything.”
Last year, Bradley was able to score an internship with Mountaire Farms through the connections she made at the career fair.
“It was so good to be able to talk to [Mountaire Farms] and continue to strengthen my connection with them, but I also talked to Perdue and made a few good connections there, so I am excited with the opportunities.”
Although CANR students are invited to attend the university-wide career fair as well, CANR also hosts its very own ag-related career fair so that students with specialized majors are given a shot at businesses specific to their major and desired career choice.
“It’s important specifically for CANR students because our majors are so niche, so bringing in employers that actually know what our majors are all about is so great for our students,” said Nicole Rehbach, an acdemic advisor for Undergraduate Student Services. “Giving our students exposure to the different jobs they could pursue with their major is really important.”
