to have anything happen. But here you walk up to them, and they’re so eager to talk to you and they want to get to know you as a person.”
One of the common sentiments about this year’s students was the level of professionalism they brought to the career fair, with many coming with concrete goals, prepared business cards, and resumes.
“I look at all these young people, and
I’m blown away,” Wood says. “They’re outgoing. They’re interested. They’re not afraid to talk to industry professionals. They’re trying to make a pathway for themselves and that’s really an inspira- tion.”
Jeff Schlemmer, director of the landscape management division for AAA Landscape, based in Phoenix, Arizona, noted the increased female population of students and how more students have the confidence to speak to participating companies and ask questions. “For us, it’s really to find that next person that can step in and really come along with us and get a career and help them out and understand what the in- dustry is,” Schlemmer says. “For us being in Arizona, it’s something that’s really different because it’s all year long. It’s not something where they’re going to plow snow, and in the summer months, they’re trimming. We’re doing it all year long and letting them know what op- portunities are out there in the West.” Cody Kettler, a senior at Sam Houston
State University majoring in plant and soil science, says it’s nice to establish connections at the career fair and see what opportunities are available in the market.
Hugh Ellsworth, a freshman at
Brigham Young University – Idaho majoring in horticulture, heard about NCLC just two weeks prior to the event and said it was an awesome experience getting involved in parts of the industry he vaguely even knew existed. “My whole purpose coming here is
just trying to network,” Ellsworth says. “Personally, I do have an internship requirement that I’m trying to fill, but I’m just trying to get a little more experience and grow in my arboriculture career.”
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY While the weather had been pleasant the day before, temperatures dropped and rain moved in on competition day on March 17. Despite the additional weather challenges, students remained calm and pushed through the 30 various
events. Kettler, who competed last year, ap-
preciated that the events were different from the previous year, giving him a chance to become better each year and try new skills. He competed in compact excavator operation, tractor loader back- hoe operation, turf and weed identifica- tion and landscape plant installation. He says his work experience helped
prepare him for the landscape plant installation event and his team spent an hour the day before breaking down their game plan of who would do what. He says preparation is what makes or breaks your success in an event. “I feel like everyone needs a little bit of competition in their life and it really pushes you and lets you learn what your strengths and weaknesses are and what you can improve on,” Kettler says. “That’s just a small aspect of what goes on here. I think the competitions are a lot
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