Synergizing Agricultural Education and Career Opportunity.

The Plant Health Society (PHS) at California State University-Fresno (CSUF) is an ideal organization to promote careers and education in agriculture as it is in the center of the top agricultural production region in the United States. Students who have entered Fresno State were exposed to agriculture at an early age due to its prominence in the area. However, their awareness of numerous educational and/or opportunities in agriculture is lacking.  Therefore, PHS aims to connect CSUF students with career options in agriculture. This was accomplished by providing a bi-monthly lecture series to bring in experts from a variety of different careers, such as those in agronomy, crops and environmental sciences, in order to increase student awareness agricultural related careers. PHS also has provided opportunities for student to seek internships through partnerships between CSUF, government organizations, and private companies. PHS has been successful at bringing together students from multiple departments to discuss career options, and view the synergy across disciplines that many careers and positons have in our modern world.  Students have had the ability to share their own projects to students outside their disciplines, and by doing such further observed how their expertise fits in agricultural sciences as a whole.  PHS has goals to expand enrollment and develop future community-focused projects to expand its reach and impact on CSUF students. Altogether PHS aims to prepare the next generation of scientists, advisors, engineers, and more to build a strong agriculturally-based community in Central California and the rest of the United States.