College of Agriculture students met with professionals in the field Monday to discuss skills that will prepare them for future employment.

The first Alpha Zeta Advisory Board Luncheon was held at the Regency Room in the Memorial Union. About 20 students and professionals attended the meal, which was hosted by Alpha Zeta, an agricultural academic fraternity.

“The purpose [of the luncheon] is to provide a link between students in the College of Agriculture to people in the industry so students can prepare for that,” said Carmen Stoner, committee member for the luncheon.

The committee had several goals and objectives for hosting the luncheon, said Catie Mochal, chairwoman of the event.

“What we were trying to do was to group people together to try to find people involved within the agricultural industry to make up a board where students and adults can interact,” said Mochal, junior in animal science. “We were also looking for some ag mentors.”

Job skills as well as the market within agriculture were part of the agenda for the afternoon, she said.

“We wanted to get to know everybody and to start a foundation,” she said. The foundation would serve as a network for both students and professionals, she said.

The event started off with a welcome by Stoner, senior in agricultural business, followed by the meal. After lunch, there was a group discussion that covered several topics, said Angie Rieck-Hinz, program specialist for the Department of Agronomy.

“One of the questions we focused on was how to educate children about the food supply,” said Angie Rieck-Hinz, who is one of the advisory board members.

Agriculture in the classroom is a main concern, Rieck-Hinz said. One principle area of discussion was how to “relate it to what younger kids could understand,” she said.

Participants also mentioned cultural diversity, which they said agricultural students can learn from.

“There are a lot of international students in the ag program here,” she said. One way for people to broaden their perspectives is to talk with these students and invite them to their hometowns, in order to illustrate what agriculture is like in different areas, Rieck-Hinz said.

As a whole, student committee members said the day went well.

“We talked about lots of different areas of agriculture, and even though they may not have been specific areas, the people were well rounded, and everyone seemed enthusiastic and excited to answer questions,” said Stoner. “We had a lot of good ideas for things that can be directly implemented into Alpha Zeta in the fall.”