Students + Alumni =
Career Connections

A Winning Ticket
As Kristy Powell walked into the Holiday Inn that day, she wasn't expecting to come away with anything more than the prospect of an interview or two and a few giveaway items from the booths at Ferris State University's Job Fair '99.

But as chance would have it, Powell, a junior in the Plastics program and daughter of FSU alumnus Richard Powell (Business '68), held the winning ticket for Alumni Relations' door prize offered at the Fair. That ticket meant Powell, who was coincidentally an Alumni Scholarship recipient this past year, became the first participant in "Career Connections," a pilot program that pairs a Ferris student with an alumna(us) from the student's field of study for a day of career-shadowing experience.

The Right Connection
In her search for someone to "shadow," she worked with the Alumni office over the next two months, identifying and contacting Plastics alumni throughout Michigan. After many telephone and e-mail contacts, she chose alumnus Paul VanWagner (Technology '96), a plastics engineer at GHSP, Inc. in Grand Haven.

"I was excited." said Powell. "Although Mr. VanWagner practices in the automotive field of plastics - a field I'm not sure I want to get into - I was still going to get a glimpse of the work environment and current projects happening in the plastics industry in West Michigan.

"This was a great opportunity for me to work with someone who understands my program to develop a better sense of what area of plastics I want to work in."

A Day in the Real World
When Powell made the trip to Grand Haven to meet with VanWagner, he gave her a tour of the facility and introduced her to their first project of the day, examining various packaging products to create and implement recyclable materials in GHSP's product packaging.

"I thought to myself, Yes! All this education is going to pay off."

- Kristy Powell

Powell and VanWagner's great experience gave the Offices of Alumni Relations and Career Services the incentive to further develop and expand the Alumni Career Connection program.

If you would like more information about the Alumni Career Network and the opportunity to become an Alumni mentor, please fill out our interest sheet and send to the Alumni Relations office, or contact the office directly at 1-888-378-3647.

"It was a great project for Paul to introduce me to because we had just finished discussing packaging issues in class," said Powell. "And what was really great was that GHSP has just begun to implement the same computer software for these projects that we used in class at Ferris."

Throughout the day, VanWagner demonstrated projects he was working on in research and development and product testing. "The entire day with Paul was great," said Powell. "When I was at GHSP I saw so much being applied as far as what I am currently learning academically that I was astonished. I thought to myself, yes, all this education is going to pay off."

Something in Common
Powell wasn't the only person learning that day. "I am really impressed to discover that the Plastics program has continued to evolve to include instruction in so many current industry practices," said VanWagner.

He also commented on the value he sees in having the opportunity to provide career shadowing. "The Career Connections program is a great idea," said VanWagner. "I wish there had been something like this when I was a student because it offers the chance to gain a snapshot of real world experience with someone who not only has your chosen field in common, but also the Ferris education experience as a starting point for learning and discussion."