Study Abroad! This is the best advice that I can give to prospective and current students. Luckily for me I am an ACE student, so it was very easy for me to find a program and work classes into my schedule. I think this was one of the biggest advantageous that being and ACE student has afforded me. Both my freshman and sophomore years I was dead set against studying abroad. I thought I came to U of I for a reason; I want to stay here and soak up everything that it has to offer.

As a senior, I am currently knee deep in full-time job applications. The University of Illinois invests so much time in career development. I have gone to two career fairs this semester with more than one hundred employers there eager to meet students from the University of Illinois.  In addition to the structured career fairs, there are always employers on campus meeting students in classrooms, club meetings, or at company information sessions. A University of Illinois education is something that employers seek out because of the valor of the students here in attendance.

As I reflect on my time here at the U of I and more specifically the Department of ACE, I think about all the awesome opportunities and experiences that I have been able to take part in during my time here.  Whether I’m jumping around Europe for a summer, talking to a room full of high school students about my experiences in ACE, or teaching my ACE mentees how to successfully navigate the ins and outs of college, I have always been encouraged to give back and share my experiences.

Since arriving at the University of Illinois over three years ago, I have had the opportunity to be a part of many different clubs and organizations. None, however, have influenced me more than the University of Illinois National Agri-Marketing Association. U of I NAMA, for short, is both a club and a class for ACE majors that focuses on creating products that benefit the agriculture industry. Each year we create a product along with a business plan that coincides with a product pitch and compete in front of judges at a national competition.

Since arriving at the University of Illinois over three years ago, I have had the opportunity to be a part of many different clubs and organizations. None, however, have influenced me more than the University of Illinois National Agri-Marketing Association. U of I NAMA, for short, is both a club and a class for ACE majors that focuses on creating products that benefit the agriculture industry. Each year we create a product along with a business plan that coincides with a product pitch and compete in front of judges at a national competition.

It’s hard to imagine the path my college career has taken me. Three years ago I began college as an Economics major, two years ago I transferred into ACE, one year ago I was completing a three-month internship in South Africa, and now I find myself a senior preparing for jobs after graduation.

This summer I was on a family vacation, and my aunt casually asked me “what’s next?”  I froze, and my mind started racing thinking about my senior year, my internship, my leadership positions, and the big job hunt.  I thought for several seconds (silently panicking), and she looked up at me and said, “I just meant what’s next for this afternoon?”  

These past couple of weeks were hectic for those who attended the ACES career fair on Thursday! In addition to the career fair, midterms, and extra-curricular activities, it was especially busy for ACE students in particular Juniors & Seniors seeking internships and full-time positions. Some of us ACE students took the initiative to prepare for the fair by partaking in information sessions, talks, or classroom presentations that provided us a jump-start on networking with recruiters or alumni.

This fall, I decided to transfer from Parkland College to the College of ACES. “What a scary decision,“ I thought. There will be bigger classes, new friends, and scariest of all, a huge campus. Change can be difficult, but experiencing the College of ACES firsthand made my anxieties fall away one by one.

About this time my freshman year, I heard Joe Rogan say in a podcast that “the number one problem in this world is crabs in a bucket.” If you’ve never observed crabs in a bucket, Rogan explained that one will begin to try to climb out of the bucket but all the other crabs pull him back down, and people are the same way.