Engaging Students in Career Planning and Preparation through Ementoring

Following a developmental model of career planning and preparation, an ementoring program was devised for first semester freshmen to (1) heighten career awareness and stimulate career exploration in food and agricultural sciences; (2) expand interest and willingness to follow career opportunities beyond the regional geographic area; and (3) stimulate deeper career exploration and development through participation in job shadowing and professional organization conferences. The ementoring program was part of a career portfolio prepared in sections of AGRI 1201, Agriculture and Human Sciences as a Profession, that were major specific for animal science majors. Impact of the experience on students was evaluated with pre- and post-mentoring questionnaires using Likert-scale (1–5, 1 = disagree or low level), selection (check those that apply), and open-ended questions. Pre-mentoring questionnaires (n = 128, 2002-2005) showed a willingness to participate in the ementoring program; however, students were reluctant to relocate for career reasons. Results revealed naivete about careers, limited career awareness and work experience. A total of 79 post-mentoring questionnaires were submitted from 2002 to 2005. Post-mentoring results indicated gains in career awareness (means of 3.84–4.23 across years) and that gains were related to the ementor (means of 3.33–4.00). Interest in career exploration also increased (means of 3.67–4.39) as did willingness to relocate for career purposes (mean of 3.64–4.15). The ementoring experience was perceived as a beneficial experience that included problem solving (38–64%), goal identification (33–67%), and career insight (44–72%). From 77 to 88% of students wanted to continue email communication with their ementor after the course-related requirement was completed.