PSVIII-29 - The Nebraska Beef Industry Scholars Program develops employability skills and improves career development

Abstract: The Nebraska Beef Industry Scholars (NBIS) program is designed to bring elite undergraduate students together to learn more about issues that affect beef production, network with industry leaders, and develop leadership skills in the beef industry. Therefore, our objectives were to better understand how prepared the NBIS students are for a career related to beef cattle post-graduation by completing a survey. The procedures of the survey were reviewed and approved by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institutional Review Board (IRB #19684). The assessment was provided to graduates of the program via an email list provided by the college. The survey was sent to 78 students who completed the NBIS program (certificate or minor) between 2010 and 2018 in the Animal Science Department at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Survey results were summarized and means and standard deviations were calculated for individual statements in the Likert scale format and were considered significant if the average was greater than 3. Fifty-one students responded to the survey, 51% of respondents were female, 72.5% majored in Animal Science with the remaining respondents majoring in Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication (21.6 and 5.9%, respectively). In terms of the NBIS program preparing students for a career, 22 respondents felt very satisfied with educational experiences through the NBIS program, whereas 14 respondents were extremely satisfied. Thirty-five respondents noted that they are currently working in the beef industry and 27 of them had found a job at graduation. Twenty-six students felt that the NBIS program provided a great deal of networking opportunities throughout their program which prepared them for their career. Overall, students who have completed the NBIS program value the experiences gained and felt prepared going into careers relative to the beef industry.