What’s the best way to relax after multiple days of exhibiting at World Dairy Expo? Enjoying some Wisconsin cheese and beverages while catching up with your fellow NAMA friends, of course! The Badger NAMA chapter hosted a reception on Thursday, October 2, 2014 for NAMA professionals from across the US and Canada exhibiting at the show.

In conjunction with the reception, the Badger Chapter career co-chairs Maria McGinnis and Kelly Smith organized an event that provided the student chapters of UW-Madison and UW-Platteville an opportunity to network with potential future employers and build their networking skills.

This year’s activity was a mini-panel discussion focused on the topic “Advice from future colleagues in the Ag Industry.” Three professional NAMA members were selected from the reception attendees with varying backgrounds and experiences. The panelists included Andrea Bloom, Vita Plus; Mike Opperman, Charleston|Orwig and Marvin Kokes, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and NAMA President-elect.

The panelists were open and honest about questions including:  things I wish I would’ve done in college before I graduated; what impresses you most about a potential job candidate; tips for starting out at your first job; I’ve been working for X number of years and I still struggle with this; and what is one office pet peeve that you have?

The tips and advice from the enthusiastic panelists resonated with the students. Just a few of the many favorites included:

— “Be passionate about what you do. It will make the bad days fewer, and great days more often.”

— “Get ready to be kicked around a little bit your first year. Contrary to what you think, you don’t know everything when you graduate.”

— “Don’t be afraid to ask your boss or even someone else successful in your company out to lunch. Find out how they became successful within your organization.”

— “Get as much experience as you can through internships and networking through professional organizations such as NAMA.”

The Badger NAMA Chapter would like to thank all of the individuals who were able to attend, and are already looking forward to seeing everyone next year at the World Dairy Expo event!