Arkansas State University hosted a career fair to help students find career options in the agriculture field.  

Chris Schroeder, assistant director of career development and engagement, said last semester they made the shift from college-wide career fairs to industry-specific ones to get students into an environment where they can gain as much experience as possible. 

“You come through multiple events throughout the semester and get kind of that experience of talking to employers, talking to recruiters and really building up that experience,” Schroeder said. “It’s not necessarily just submitting resumes, it’s trying to present that experience opportunity and get students the opportunity to kind of have discussions as much as possible.”

Schroeder said with a big fair it’s impossible for students to make it to every booth, but these smaller fairs make it possible for students to interact with every potential employer.  

Schroeder said while a majority of the students who pre-registered for the fair were plant soil science majors, it was not limited to those studying agriculture. He said a lot of business majors also attended as there are many opportunities in the agricultural business field.

Representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) were present at the fair to recruit students and provide more information about the different USDA positions and career advancement opportunities. 

Belinda Nelson, USDA human resources representative, said the government agency’s purpose is to help people and the land by studying productive soils, keeping water clean and helping plant and animal communities.

Reggie Jackson, USDA outreach coordinator, said one of the best places to have a career in agriculture is the USDA as there are many different agencies under it.  

“Natural Resources Conservation Service helps farmers help them land, provide financial aid technical services to farmers to make them more productive, with their farming, with their ranching, with their forest land and any other ways that we can help give them assistance through conservation practices and initiatives,” Jackson said.

Jackson said most of the USDA’s new employees have been hired through career fairs because the USDA likes to bring summer interns into their agencies. 

Kaylee Carr, human resources supervisor for Peco, attended the career fair to introduce the company to students and discuss opportunities.

Carr said Peco Foods is a fourth-generation, family-owned poultry processing facility, the eighth largest in the U.S., with locations in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. 

They supply fresh and processed poultry products, including those used by major fast-food chains like McDonalds.

“I’ve had a lot of people come up and ask some really good questions. It seems like they’re very interested in exploring ideas and opportunities, especially the animal science major,” Carr said.

Carr said she actually learned about Peco from a career fair when she was a student at Arkansas State University and decided to do an internship with the company. 

Journy West, a first-year nursing major from Silva, Missouri, attended the agriculture career fair for the class intro to agriculture business. 

West said although she came to the fair because she had to, she also finds interest in Stein Industry and how they genetically modify their plants so she went to the fair to talk to speak to that company. 

“We just learned that they’re trying to genetically modify their soybeans to be able to take more pesticides and herbicides than the previous batch,” West said. “I just think being able to get into the genetics of the plant and changing it for better and being able to produce more or defend against more. I think that’s really cool.”

Savannah Ullnan, a first-year pre-veterinary major from Paragould, said she came to the fair for the same class as West but also to talk to Peco because they have good internships for animal science majors. 

“Peco is someone I can look into, but it’s more of I want to be a small animal vet. It’s more of broadening my horizons. But I do want to try to just be a small animal vet. Peco might be an internship I look into to try to get into that school,” Ullnan said. 

Schroeder said A-State will also be doing a fair later in the year for behavioral and mental health studies and they are in the process of finalizing a date.

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