Department of Crop and Soil Sciences

Agronomy Alumni Group

Mentoring Program

The Agronomy Alumni Group is an alumni group formed in 1997 specifically for the benefit of the Penn State Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, its alumni, and students. One of the missions of our organization is to establish channels of communication between faculty, alumni and industry/business for the exchange of ideas and the rapid identification of industrial and academic trends.

The Mentoring Program can help to promote jobs for students, better equip students with the needs of employers, and establish a format avenue for communications between industry employers, the department staff, and students. The program can also be a stepping-stone for a number of innovative activities such as co-op programs, internships, seminars, field trips, and innovative teaching and research activities.

The APG has assimilated a group of several dozen agronomy graduates who are available and willing to serve as professional mentors for agronomy students. These individuals have diverse technical and professional backgrounds. Crop and Soil Sciences students with interests in soils, agroecology, and turfgrass will find mentors who have followed similar career paths as the students are currently pursuing.

The APG encourages students to contact any of our mentors by telephone, E-mail, or in writing. Students should feel free to strike up a dialogue with mentors about issues related to the student's professional development and career opportunities after college. Mentors are not expected to provide jobs for students after graduation, however, they can be an asset to future networking within the professional community. Remember, the mentors have been assembled to help the student; they can't assist individual students unless the student makes the first contact.