The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences hosted the 10th annual Professional Development night in the Ohio Union Performance hall on October 9, 2012. A total of 239 students, faculty, staff, and industry representatives were in attendance for the event. The theme of the night was “Get Involved and Find Your Fit,” with guest speaker Jon Petz. Jon is a motivational speaker, corporate magician, and author of the book “Boring Meetings Suck.” Mr. Petz encouraged students to stand up, take action, and get involved in their college. Dr. Jeff Hattey, Assistant Dean to the college stated, “I think the speaker had two great points this evening. Number 1: Be passionate about what you do and keep working until you find what that is for you. Pretty soon it’s not work anymore. And number 2: We have to keep an open mind and look at the big picture of things in order to see the opportunities that may come your way.” Sophomore in Agribusiness and Applied Economics, Ben Nething, remarked, “PDN helped me get excited for the second half of the semester. It was a great pick-me-up for the students to listen to Jon Petz.”
Professional development night allows students to mingle with each other as well as faculty, staff, and industry representatives. Dr. Joseph Ottobre, Professor in Animal Sciences, said, “It was nice to see the students in a different environment and interact with them outside the classroom. Everyone seemed excited and upbeat.” Companies that attended the College Professional Development Night included the Ohio Farm Bureau, Farm Credit of Mid-America, Project and Construction Services Inc, Northwestern Mutual, Peace Corps, Ohio State University Development Fund, Cargill, and TEK Systems.
“PDN not only developed me professionally, but also encouraged me to take hold of the opportunities that come my way. We never know when our show time moment will be!” – Bev Lennartz, Senior in Agribusiness and Applied Economics.