Record Number of Scholarships Offered for 2024 COE
The Midwest Poultry Consortium awarded 36 scholarships for the 2024 COE class, which is a five year high for scholarship awards and tied for second highest awards in MPC’s history.
In January, MPC staff convened its Scholarship Award Committee which offered COE scholarships to fortunate students eager to immerse themselves in an intensive six-week curriculum of poultry science education. While awarding scholarships tends to be a difficult process as applications outnumber available scholarships, MPC staff and representatives from MPC member universities, awarded scholarships to highly-motivated students who are excited to begin their journey within the poultry industry.
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The Midwest Poultry Consortium held its 2024 Annual Meeting via Zoom on Thursday, February 22, with more than 60 participants, including Midwest Poultry Consortium (MPC) members, former Center of Excellence Scholarship/Internship Program (COE) students, and COE faculty. The meeting gave members the opportunity to learn about MPC activities over the course of the past year and hear firsthand, from both students and faculty members, about the importance of the COE Program to the poultry industry. Click
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The Art of Networking at PEAK 2024
Lara Durben, Midwest Poultry Federation
PEAK 2024 – the trade show and convention powered by the Midwest Poultry Federation – is coming up this spring in Minneapolis and now is the perfect time to make plans to attend.
It is also a great time to consider how best to make connections in the poultry industry as you are walking the trade show and attending the education sessions.
Like any trade show, PEAK 2024 is a vibrant hub of industry activity. Professionals gather in Minneapolis to showcase their products, share their insights, and forge meaningful connections. However, mastering the art of networking can be challenging – whether you’re a seasoned veteran or attending PEAK for the first time. Click
here for the complete article.
Scholarships for the 2024 COE have been offered and students are starting to accept internships to complete their summer COE experience. Internships, provided by MPC's member companies, are one of the most valuable components of the COE experience. Every student who attends COE on a full scholarship will complete a summer internship with one of our member companies at the conclusion of the COE classes.
Last year, 25 internships were provided by MPC sponsor companies. After leaving the Iowa State University campus, students headed to Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin to complete their internships. Click
here for the complete article.
Update from COE Grad Managing 115 People and Over 2 Million Layer Hens
Neil Moser was a student at Michigan State University (MSU) when he learned about the COE program. He took COE classes in 2005 and 2006. He did his COE internships with Rose Acre Farms and Sunrise Farms.
After graduating from college, Neil took a job with a layer company in Ohio. He worked for that company for over a decade and grew into the role of Regional Live Production Manager. “I was managing over 2.2 million layers and 470,000 pullets, serving as a liaison to contract pullet growers in multiple states, and supervising over 50 staff members,” he said.
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The
Midwest Poultry Consortium's (MPC) student tracking
and database system follows COE graduates not only through
their graduation, but also through full-time employment.
The goal of this tracking system is to help place COE
graduates in positions within MPC member companies
and to retain as many students in the poultry industry
as possible. Congratulations to the following students
on their poultry employment!
Colleen Grafton, a 2013 COE graduate, has accepted the position of Keomah Complex Manager with Oskaloosa Food Products in Fremont, IA. Colleen is a December 2014 graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Animal Science.
Lauren Sroda, a 2021 COE participant, has accepted the position of Research Engineer with the National Poultry Technology Center at Auburn University. Lauren is a December 2023 graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a degree in Biological Systems Engineering.
Want to attract more COE graduates to your company? Don’t forget, Midwest Poultry Consortium has a great resource to connect people looking for careers in the poultry industry with MPC sponsor companies seeking to fill positions with qualified candidates.
Sponsors are able to post jobs, for free, to the MPC job board which is utilized by upcoming graduates as well as COE alumni. MPC's jobs page allows prospective, past, and current COE students to learn about poultry career opportunities. It also allows MPC sponsor companies a convenient way to reach COE students who may be interested in applying for open positions.The jobs page can be found under the Center of Excellence tab of the MPC website or by clicking here.
MPC sponsors looking to post a position on the jobs page should email a job description with application information to mpc@mwpoultry.org. Job openings are also promoted on MPC's social media sites.
Scholarships for the 2024 COE have been offered and students are starting to accept internships to complete their summer COE experience. Internships, provided by MPC's member companies, are one of the most valuable components of the COE experience. Every student who attends COE on a full scholarship will complete a summer internship with one of our member companies at the conclusion of the COE classes.
Neil Moser was a student at Michigan State University (MSU) when he learned about the COE program. He took COE classes in 2005 and 2006. He did his COE internships with Rose Acre Farms and Sunrise Farms.