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32nd Annual Student Career Days a success from all perspectives
2 Apr, 2008 By: Michael Seuffert LM Direct!ATLANTA — It may have been the smallest site ever to host the Professional Landcare Network’s (PLANET) Student Career Days, but North Metro Technical College in Atlanta played the perfect host for the largest-ever gathering of horticulture students and future Green Industry leaders in the event’s 32-year history. More than 950 students from 66 colleges and universities from across the country convened on the campus, located about 30 miles north of Atlanta, which is home to only about 2,000 students.
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Laying pavers are Abram Allard, left, and Ben Starett, right, from the University of Maine. |
Many of the outdoor competitions were the same as previous years: mowing and maintenance, irrigation installation, paver work, skid steer obstacle course and more. But there was something quite different about this year’s event.
“This year’s attendees are probably the best prepared and most professional students that I’ve ever seen,” says Jennifer Buck of Chapel Valley Landscape, and chair of this year’s Student Career Days.
Buck can speak from experience. She competed in the event herself before graduating from Virginia Tech in 1999.
“This event just keeps growing bigger and better every year,” she says. “Every aspect of the industry is represented. It’s really the only forum out there for students, faculty, industry businesses and suppliers to get together and work toward the goal of improving the education and professionalism in the industry.”
“Over the course of three or four days, there’s educational aspects, social aspects, career-oriented aspects, networking opportunities and, of course, the competition which anchors everything,” Buck continues. “There really is something here for everybody to take advantage of, whether it’s finding an internship or full-time job, or from the university’s ability to showcase their programs.”
Student perspective
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A student stops to chat at the Swingle Lawn & Tree Care booth at the career fair. More than 100 companies exhibited at the fair. |
Sitting on the shuttle bus from the conference center where the Career Fair was held to North Metro Tech’s campus, Dustin Coss of Columbus State University (Ohio) exemplified what this event was all about.
Coss is a few years older than many of the 19-22 year-old taking part in the event. In fact, he has two girls of his own, ages 3 and 5. But he was drawn to the industry and enrolled in Columbus State’s program and this event to further his career. He competed in a couple of events, including DynaSCAPE’s business management software event, irrigation design and a leadership event.
“The leadership event is really unique, because it combines four people from different colleges and puts them on a team together,” Coss explained. “It’s a great opportunity to meet other students and, in a way, it takes away from the competitive nature between the schools. But working together toward our goal it shows that, just like in life, if your business is going to be successful, everyone needs to succeed.”
As Coss is finishing up his studies, he has already accepted a position with Brickman in Columbus, OH. But he still plans on staying involved with future Student Career Days.
“These events, the whole competition, really helps build those professional and technical skills that you need to be successful in the field, and in life in general,” he says. “I’d really love to stay on as an advisor from my school, and help get future students involved in the event.”
Faculty perspective
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Kara Monroe from the University of Florida is instructed on cutting techniques by David Breeden of Husqvarna. |
Student Career Days has come a long way since 1975, when Robert A. Callaway from Mississippi State University, Ron Smith of at Ohio State University and Michigan State's Roy Mecklenburg put together a little test to see which school’s horticulture program had the best skills.
But what hasn’t changed is the pride that the professors take in the success and growth of their students.
“This event really gets our students motivated. It’s not just a three-day event. It’s a year-long process to get here,” says Michael Mike Davidsohn, landscape contracting program coordinator at the University of Massachusetts. “The event gets the students to focus on details, think about things they hadn’t thought of before, and gives them exposure to all these other schools and industry people.”
Greg Huber of Griffin Technical College, located in Griffin, GA, said this was the first Student Career Days his college has been able to attend, thanks to its geographic proximity. But it was such a success, he hopes to get his students back here anytime the event is east of the Mississippi River.
“We didn’t really know what to expect coming in, but it’s been great,” Huber says. “It really helps the students build confidence in what they’ve been learning, seeing how they stack up to the other schools here. They pick up a lot of information they can pass on to the younger students, and really build teamwork for the group.”
Employer perspective
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Southern Illinois' Kyle Markling trims while Scott Pfeiffer mows during the landscape operations event. |
Not to be cliché, but especially for the Green Industry, good workers can really be hard to find. So as companies struggle to find the help they need, events like Student Career Days take on added importance.
“It really is very hard to find good people to build your company around,” says Lisa Romero, human resources manager for Hampstead, MD-based Outside Unlimited. “We’re looking for those people who we can get in and have them work their way through the company, learning to understand all the different aspects of what we do. So many people just want to start in management. We work to build the skills so that when you do reach that position, you have all the knowledge you’ll need to be successful.”
Outside Unlimited offers both internships and full-time positions to students from Student Career Days. Romero was particularly impressed by students she talked to range of schools and skills.
“When we’re hiring, we’re looking for dedication, good grades, motivation to success and someone with goals,” she says. “We ask the students about their three-year-plan. We want them to be looking ahead to see where they want to go.”
“From a student’s perspective, what we hear most is that they are looking for both stability and growth potential. They want to know the company is going to be around for a long time, and that there is a path for them to grow.”
Mike Martin, vice president of Operations for Outside Unlimited also chipped in: “This is the landscape Olympics. It’s our chance to see the best students in the country compete at what they do best. Seeing them actually laying a brick patio or doing a plant install, this is where you really see who you want to be a part of your company in the future.”
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Doing some irrigation problem solving are Andrew Littlejohn, left, and Gary Medhurst, right, from Illinois Central College. |
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