The enthusiasm of two ISU students is helping an unknown major grow. The Industrial Technology department is growing due to the recruiting efforts of two of its students.

Erik Richards, senior in industrial technology, and Austin Bullington, junior in industrial technology, are student ambassadors for the industrial technology department. Richards has been working as a student ambassador for the past year, and Bullington was unofficially recruiting potential students before becoming a student ambassador last semester.

“The biggest challenge our major faces is exposure,” Richards said. “Nobody knows about us.”

Bullington said the major is not widely known because it is hidden in the engineering department.

“Basically, we give tours to prospective students, and talk with them about what goes on here,” he said. “It is a lot better to talk to a student who has been through the system and knows what goes on as opposed to a professor.”

Richards said the ambassadors also set up a booth at Experience Iowa State tours and talk with visiting students.

He said there are many things which make the department attractive to students.

“Our department is small, which makes it easier for professors to work with students on more of a personal level and allows for a hands-on approach,” Richards said.

Job placement is another factor when deciding on the industrial technology department, Bullington said.

“Our job placement is at 95 percent, so, if you put the time in, you’ll get a job and, more importantly, a job you want,” he said.

Richards said the department is doing well this year and the future looks bright.

Chris Thompson, junior in industrial technology, was recruited by Bullington, and said he made the right decision about his major.

“I was looking into engineering but was unaware industrial tech was around,” he said. “I wanted more of a hands-on approach to learning, not just theory, and this was a perfect fit.”

Thompson said Bullington explained what the program was and its possibilities, along with how it differed from engineering.

“I’m glad he took the time to talk with me,” he said. “I’d be completely clueless as to what I’d be doing if I wasn’t in this major.”