CANR Alumni Board Spotlight – John Schramski
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EmailCANR is releasing a series of spotlights on Alumni Board members. John Schramski (Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, '13 B.S., '20 M.S.) is currently an Executive Board member representing Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences.
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) has nearly 60,000 alumni living around the world. The CANR Alumni Board plays a critical role connecting this large and diverse alumni community to meaningful ways to engage with the college after graduation.
The mission of the CANR Alumni Board is to build relationships that serve the college, alumni, students and friends of MSU. The board consists of volunteer members representing each of the college departments, MSU Extension, young alumni and at-large members. These members meet four times a year: September, December, March and July in East Lansing.
Alumni Board members have a variety of responsibilities, including promoting college events and philanthropic opportunities. They also serve as liaisons between the college, academic departments, alumni, and the agriculture and natural resources industries, among other duties. The work of the Alumni Board helps to keep the CANR community vibrant and connected.
CANR is releasing a series of spotlights on Alumni Board members. These stories will highlight each member's motivation for joining the board and share their experiences in this role.
John Schramski (Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, '13 B.S., '20 M.S.) is currently an Executive Board member representing Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences. He is currently a Technology Development Representative for Bayer Crop Sciences.
How did your experience at CANR set you up for success in your career after graduation?
My experience in CANR set me up for success after graduation by helping me develop a great professional network before my professional career even started. Through CANR I developed relationships with not only fellow students, but also experienced professionals through CANR events, guest speakers in class, internships, etc. CANR also opened my eyes to the many different career opportunities that I hadn’t been exposed to and allowed me to discover which path was best for me.
What inspired you to become a CANR Alumni Board member?
I was inspired to become a CANR Alumni Board member because I wanted to find new ways that I could interact and give back with the college that gave me so many opportunities.
What advice do you have for CANR current students?
When I get to speak with current CANR students I always encourage them to get involved with as many student clubs and groups as possible. Through this they get the opportunity to meet other students as well as professionals and add to their experience as students by putting on events, taking industry tours or competing in student contests. Another piece of advice is to take advantage of work opportunities, especially internships. Try different types of internships and figure out what you like best.
How would you encourage other CANR alumni to get involved and connect with the college?
I would encourage other CANR alumni to get involved with the college by volunteering to participate in any event where you get to interact with students. This could be as a guest speaker in a class, the student career fair or through mentoring.
What kind of impact do you hope to have as a member of the CANR Alumni board?
I hope that through being a member of the CANR Alumni Board I, along with my fellow board members, can continue to finding new ways to support current students and encourage participation from other CANR alumni.
Learn more about the responsibilities and mission of the CANR Alumni Board and its members. To learn more about how you can get involved or serve on the CANR Alumni Board, please contact the CANR Advancement team.
