Month: February 2016

Dear Brazil, Obrigada

Before

AZP Class 17, Day 1 Columbus, OH

By: Mary Siekman, Agricultural Communication | Delaware, OH­

On January 4th myself and fourteen of my peers stood with bags packed in the Port Columbus International Airport as we waited to depart for what was to be the biggest adventure of my life – a six week study abroad experience in São Paulo, Brazil.

This six-week experience is a trip students look forward to every January. Each year a new class of students is inducted into Alpha Zeta Partners, an honorary fraternity in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Traveling to Brazil is one of four seminars the newly elected class of AZP members participate in together. The other three focus on personal leadership development, understanding diversity and a seminar in Washington D.C. highlighting organizational change.

While my class was abroad in Brazil we were enrolled in classes at the ESALQ campus of the Universidad De São Paulo focusing on economics, agriculture and the history of Brazil. Not only did we learn about Brazilian agriculture in the classroom, but we also experienced it first hand during the two weeks our class spent touring different farms and agricultural companies around the south eastern part of Brazil.

As part of our final grade each of us was expected to keep a daily journal to record our thoughts and experiences in throughout our trip. Below is a journal entry I wrote during a layover in the airport as we traveled home:

Dear Brazil,

Obrigada – “Thank you.”

Thank you for welcoming us. One of the first things I noticed way back in January when we stepped off our plane in the São Paulo airport was how immediately I felt welcomed. Throughout the entire six weeks we lived in Brazil I rarely met someone who did not go the extra mile to make me feel welcome and comfortable. The Brazilians we met and tried to communicate with (even with the English/Portuguese language barrier) often tried their hardest to listen, understand and communicate with us. Instead of ignoring us or laughing behind our backs (although we did look funny on many occasions!!) they made an effort to include us, learn about us and teach us about their culture…especially in some of the restaurants we visited often. We were welcomed in and treated like family when we went out to eat dinner, which made saying goodbye difficult to do.

Thank you for immersing us in your culture and opening our eyes to the world around us. Traveling to Brazil was the first time I had ever been abroad and completely submerged in a culture different than my own. Not being able to read the street signs, understand the waiter at dinner or know how to act in different social situations challenged me to focus in and think in a different way. During our time abroad my classmates and I challenged each other to embrace this new culture every chance we could and as a result were able to begin to understand the differences between our cultures and learn so much more about the country we were living in.

Thank you for friends and family we will have forever. Before we departed from the Columbus airport more than six weeks ago we were just a group of classmates who hadn’t spent much time together and didn’t know much about each other. However, through the spontaneous adventures we went on, the intentional conversations we had and through all of the experiences we shared we learned to appreciate each other and became closer. The group of classmates that had left the United States together six weeks ago were not the same students that came back home. But instead, the students that landed in the Columbus airport on Friday are a group of great friends, teammates and family. We all have Brazil to thank for bringing us together and tying us closer.

– Not only did we return home knowing we have new friendships in the United States, but also knowing we will always have great friendships and families in Brazil. During our time abroad we met and grew close with many individuals and families and will hold onto the relationships until next time we return back to Brazil.

Obrigada por tudo, Brasil – “Thank you for everything, Brazil.”

Until next time,

Mary

after

AZP Class 17, Day 38 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

For more of Mary’s experiences visit: http://marysiekman.wordpress.com

The Importance of the Career Expo

Career%20Development%20(2)

By: Daniel Grayless, Agricultural Communication | Russellville, OH

Every semester companies gather in the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H center for the CFAES Career Expo. The companies come to meet with students and hire them for jobs and internships. Around 70 companies make it to the event and hundreds of students come dressed in business professional attire to network and give their elevator speeches to try and secure an interview.

These career expos are great opportunities for students to be able to get their resumes in the hands of employers and for them to really be able to interact with the employers. There is a lot of preparation the students need to put in to be successful at the career expo.  Students need to make sure that their resume is polished and up to date, do their homework on what companies are attending and what positions they are hiring for, form elevator speeches and make sure their dress attire is clean and wrinkle free.  After all this there are other resources students can take advantage of to improve their skills and feel even better prepared.  The Career Development Office offers videos on preparing for the career expo, resume workshops and reviews and opportunities for students to do practice interviews with companies.

The career expo can be nerve-wracking and stressful especially for the unprepared. Thankfully an abundance of resources are offered to help students prepare, they just need to take advantage of them.  With the expo coming up this week it is imperative that students be preparing now if they want to make a lasting impression with employers.

 

For The Kids: What I learned from BuckeyeThon

 Cece Utendorf Blog Picture 1

By: Cece Utendorf | Agribusiness and Applied Economics | Columbus Grove, OH

As a senior, I have had many awesome and inspiring experiences throughout my years at Ohio State. Above all, BuckeyeThon has been the most incredible event that I have ever been a part of. BuckeyeThon is an event put on by the students at Ohio State that raises money for the Oncology/Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Departments at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The fundraising happens all year, but the main event is the Dance Marathon, which is held each year at the beginning of February. In fact, BuckeyeThon is the largest student-run philanthropy event in the state of Ohio! The Dance Marathon is centered around the children and families from Nationwide Children’s that participate. The children that attend are befittingly called “Miracle Kids.”Here’s a few of things that I have learned from my BuckeyeThon experience & why I think you should participate, too:

  1. My troubles are small I think that every single Ohio State student that participates in BuckeyeThon leaves feeling this way. Although my day-to-day may seem stressful and I may think life is hard, I have never endured what these children have endured. During the Dance Marathon, the dancers stand and dance for 12 hours without sitting down. We dance “for the kids who can’t” and because our exhaustion during that time is nothing compared to the exhaustion of what the children and their families battle daily.
  1. Always take a moment to make someone’s day This is something that you will never, ever regret doing. At BuckeyeThon, the Miracle Kids enter the event by running down a red carpet through a tunnel of loving Buckeye students that can’t wait to meet them and throughout the event they are given celebrity status. Their smiles alone make the event worth attending!
  1. Service brings people together I met one of my very best friends at BuckeyeThon in 2015! We participated in BuckeyeThon this year together as well. The camaraderie among the Ohio State community is felt very deeply at BuckeyeThon. You can feel the sense of community among everyone who is packed in the main hall of the Union when we all put our arms our one another and sing Carmen Ohio. This is a moment that I will never forget.
  1. Don’t underestimate your own ability to make a difference And amazing things happen when people come together and decide to make a difference. This year at BuckeyeThon, we collectively raised $1,338,872 for the kids at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Such an impressive number can only come from the dedication and the hearts of many!
  1. Children are better dancers than I am Truly, these Miracle Kids have better moves than I do. But it doesn’t matter! I learned at BuckeyeThon to put myself out there! You do not have to be the best at something to do it. Have confidence and step out of your comfort zone. This is where personal growth happens!
  1. Keep moving forward. One of my favorite side events at BuckeyeThon was the face painting. The Miracle Kids are given paint and use the dancers as their canvas. One sweet little boy, Hayden, drew a big red heart on my arm! Out of the blue, he told me that he wants to be a hockey player and a doctor when he grows up. This small child has been through so much, but yet has big dreams and hope for tomorrow. It’s such a great reminder of the need for strength and faith in our lives even when things seem impossible.
  1. Always take advantage of opportunities I will forever be thankful that I took advantage of the opportunity to participate in BuckeyeThon!

Cece Utendorf Blog Picture 2