STILLWATER —
Some students know the exact career path they want to take upon high school graduation, while others have no clue.
Yet other students know what field they want to go into, but are not sure of the career possibilities in that area. This is where Amy Gazaway and Kelsey Lee, career development coordinators for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University, come into play.
In addition to providing students with one-on-one career guidance, Gazaway teaches a one-hour elective course called “Career Exploration in Agriculture and Natural Resources,” which serves as a career guide for agriculture students at OSU.
“Students often don’t know what their opportunities are,” Gazaway said. “This course is designed to help them figure out what opportunities are out there and connect them with their personal abilities and preferences.”
The course is broken into three sections. The first section reveals the many opportunities an agriculture graduate has after college by exploring the diverse fields associated with agriculture, food and natural resources.
The second portion of the class is designed to get students to identify and label their interests, skills, talents and values. It is a self-assessment process allowing students to filter career options that are compatible to their personal qualities.
“A lot of times they will know what they are interested it, or they know what they are good at, but they have a hard time describing it and connecting it to career possibilities,” Gazaway said.
A three-week period toward the end of the semester reviews United States Department of Agriculture projections for upcoming years. The report covers what career paths are in demand, the number of jobs available in certain areas and other important information regarding the workforce.
The final week of the course is an open forum. Students can ask any career related questions such as how to look for an internship or hone their interviewing skills. The class is geared toward second-semester freshman and sophomores who are looking for answers to how they can apply their degree in agriculture or natural resources toward their future.
“They don’t realize there are so many opportunities in agriculture and natural resources,” Gazaway said. “Students have ‘blinders’ on when they come into college.”
Television has an impact on what a student’s career path may be. Gazaway said, for example, many students have become interested in becoming crime scene investigators in recent years, in part, due to the success of C.S.I.
“That’s what students know. They know what their parents are doing. They know what their friends’ parents are doing. They know the jobs in their community and they know the jobs they see on TV,” Gazaway said. “When they get here, they realize there are all of these other possibilities.”
The feedback received by Gazaway through evaluation sheets and one-on-one discussions with students has been positive since the course inception.
“I think it gives the students some confidence in what they are studying and in their futures. I see some excitement that is generated amongst the students,” Gazaway said.
It is the perfect course for those students who are on path to earn an agricultural communications degree, for example, but don’t want to go into broadcast or publications. Many other opportunities are out there and Gazaway helps shed some light on those options, as well as on options for other majors within the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
“It’s not so much what you can do with your degree, rather discovering what you want to do with it,” Gazaway said.
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Career opportunities available in agriculture
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EF-5 tornado called 'worst in history'
President Barack Obama pledged the federal government’s full support for disaster relief in what is being called one of the most devastating tornadoes in history. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has deployed a team to the state.
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Okla. officials vow not to quit looking until everyone is found
The tornado that killed 24 people and injured at least 100 others in the Moore and Oklahoma City area cut a 17-mile-long path that started in Newcastle and ended at Lake Stanley Draper. Nine of the dead are children.
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UPDATE: How to donate, find drop-off locations for relief supplies
Below is a listing of where donations may be taken in the Edmond area to help the Moore/Oklahoma tornado victims:
• The Edmond Sun is serving as a drop-off location for the downtown Edmond area. Supplies only may be dropped off at 123 S. Broadway and residents may use the backdoor to enter the building. Parking is available behind the building at the Festival Market Place. From 5-10 p.m. donations may be taken to Café Evoke, 103 S. Broadway.
• Edmond North High School is serving as a drop-off location for bottled water through today
• Memorial High School is serving as a drop-off location for food through today.
• Santa Fe High School is serving as a drop-off location for supplies such as work gloves, tools, etc. through today. -
Storm shelter inquiries up; customers take a number
After the horrific tornado set down in Moore Monday afternoon, storm shelter inquiries hit new highs.
Tuesday Ashley Cunningham, office manager for Red Dirt Septic on Waterloo Road in Edmond, and Mark Webb, owner of the Armor Vault Tornado Shelter in Oklahoma City, said their phones have been ringing consistently starting Monday afternoon. -
Edmond detective describes tornado devastation
Like other Oklahomans, Edmond Police Detective Marion Cain was keeping an eye on the weather Monday.
The storm, which produced the tornado began at 2:45 p.m., about 4.4 miles west of Newcastle and its 20-mile long path went through Newcastle, Moore and south Oklahoma City. About 10 minutes after it formed, it was already causing EF4 damage. Maximum winds of the tornado, upgraded to an EF5, were 200-210 mph, according to information released at 2:50 p.m. Tuesday by the National Weather Service. Its estimated maximum width was 1.3 miles. -
Edmond high schools aid Moore, OKC tornado victims
Sometimes good things come from texting.
Monday afternoon, Sydney Richardson, who will be Santa Fe’s student body president next year, was driving home and it was raining. Once home, she talked to her mother, who told her about the tornado in Moore. Then she began seeing the damage on TV.
“It was devastating,” Richardson said. “We watched it all night long. I just felt like we needed to do something immediately.” -
Insurers respond to Moore disaster
Insurers, like other agencies related to the Moore tornado disaster, are assessing the damage.
The Oklahoma Insurance Department has made an emergency declaration, allowing out-of-state adjusters to work storm damaged areas, said agency spokeswoman Calley Herth. It’s too soon to have tabulated damage estimates, Herth said.
“We are working hard to collect any and all numbers, but it’s just too soon at this moment,” she said. -
AG issues charity fraud and schemes alert
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt Tuesday issued a warning for Oklahomans and donors around the country to beware of charity fraud and scams following the severe storms in Oklahoma.
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City schedules debris collection for May 28
The City of Edmond’s Field Services Division of Public Works will be collecting storm-related debris from the May 19 tornado in accordance with the City of Edmond’s Emergency Operation Plan’s Level Two Response.
Affected areas where debris pick up will occur include in the area beginning one-half mile south of 15th Street to 33rd Street and from Boulevard Avenue east to I-35; and the Territories and Timberlake additions. Please see the map for clarification. Pick up is available for residential homes located within the designated boundaries.
Tree debris must be cut into no more than 6-foot sections and must be placed by the curb of the residence no later than 8 a.m. May 28. Crews will begin collection on Tuesday and continue until they have covered the area. -
Photos: Aftermath of massive tornado in Moore
Storm victims were pulled from the rubble and residents began surveying the damage late Monday and early Tuesday in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, where a powerful tornado destroyed entire neighborhoods and left dozens dead.
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