TIFTON—Representatives from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College met recently with Tifton business owners, organization volunteers, and non-profit directors in an effort to build closer relationships between the college and its external partners.
The meeting served as an introduction to internship programs available for students and student engagement programs through housing.
Trent Hester, Student Leadership and Engagement Coordinator, said that he hopes the meeting is the beginning of a valuable collaboration that will benefit both students and the Tiftarea.
“A strong majority of our academic programs require internships in order for the students to graduate,” Hester said. “We are always looking for opportunities for our students to get engaged somewhere, to get valuable experience so that they can graduate career ready. Right now, we’re sending students all over the country to do internships. We have interns in Washington D.C and out on ranches in Wyoming. Some of the ones that might be of particular interest here would be communications, business, rural community development, history, and government.”
Hester said that a more symbiotic relationship with Tifton will give students an experience that promotes career readiness and productive citizens.
“Student retention is just as much about their engagement with the city as is it about their engagement at ABAC,” he said. “Having students engage with Tifton, having them feel like they’re at home here, encourages them to stay in college, to get connected more with the school and the town.”
“During my time as an ABAC student, my internships and practicum placements played an integral role in where I am today, personally and professionally,” said Hillery Culpepper, Tifton Main Street Manager, a 2016 ABAC alum who helped organize the meeting. “I was extremely fortunate to be given the opportunity to complete these experiences. As an ABAC alum, I believe in giving back to the college however I can. Through my role as the Main Street Manager for Downtown Tifton, I saw a need for our businesses and non-profit organizations to connect with our ABAC students. I cannot think of a better way for these two groups to connect than through internship and volunteer opportunities where students can receive real world experience and the groups that the students are working with receive the help that they need.”
At the meeting, Tia Kohler, program support specialist from the Stafford School of Business; Kyle Basko, program coordinator for the School of Arts and Sciences, and Corey Lovell, academic and career coordinator from the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, detailed the different ways in which students from each school could be assets to local businesses and organizations. Sarai Mapp, assistant director of residence life and housing, and Naomi Chance, residence life coordinator, said that they would welcome the opportunity for local businesses and organizations to partner with them for professional development and residence life programs for the 1,300 students that live on campus.
Many of the organizations represented at the meeting expressed interest in student involvement in the form of not only internships but also short term projects, volunteers, and assistance at local events and festivals.
“I cannot wait to see the positive ripple effect start from partnership,” Culpepper said. “I hope to see our ABAC students in downtown Tifton doing more shopping, dining, and exploring but also benefiting from our local businesses and organizations through internships and volunteer opportunities.”
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