Sophomores in the College of Agriculture will have the opportunity this spring to take a pilot career seminar class in conjunction with Cargill, Inc.

The Agriculture Education and Studies 215 course will focus on resume building, interviewing, moving through the ranks of a business, job shadowing, field trips and employers’ expectations, said Eric Hoiberg, associate dean of academic and state programs.

“We feel training the next generation of agriculture leaders is a very important task we have,” he said. He said focusing in on these careers is the best way possible.

Hoiberg and five other faculty members started developing the idea when Cargill approached the college with a possibility of using its higher education initiative. Many outside sources fear the corporation’s influence on the college, said Ron Deiter, one of the faculty members who developed the plan.

These outside sources criticize the involvement and the difficulty of making research objective and unbiased, said Deiter, professor of agricultural economics. However, Deiter said that in education, he “doesn’t see that as a problem here.”

Sophomores are targeted because of the flexibility they still have in their future planning.

“[They] have time left to see something they would like to change, redesign or modify for their remaining academic program,” Deiter said.

Rachel Rash, sophomore in agricultural business, said she is looking forward to taking the class, which she said will broaden her horizons in the opportunities that await her.

“This career experience will help me determine what areas I’d like to go into and narrow my ideas down,” she said.

As students come in as freshmen they’re not worried about careers yet, and juniors and seniors are beginning to be more focused on what they want to do for a permanent job, Deiter said.

Jason Ribbens, sophomore in agricultural business, said he is looking forward to getting involved with the job shadowing aspect of the seminar.

“I’m hoping to get more of an idea of what employers are looking for,” he said. He said he hopes employers will point out what exactly the job descriptions mean.

Another benefit of the class is an overview of agribusiness and food systems, Deiter said.

“We felt a class like this might enable students to tie things together from other classes,” he said. “This should give an opportunity to see different aspects of leadership, management and other aspects of agribusiness.”

The class will be taught by Carrie Fritz, graduate student in agricultural education and studies, at 4 p.m. on Thursdays. The class will be limited to 22 to 25 sophomores from the College of Agriculture.

Hoiberg said he hopes to continue building the class if it is successful.

“It is a very good opportunity, and we’d like to continue on in the future, and maybe expand, if there is a sufficient demand,” he said.