When and where will this event be held?
John Deere Day will be held on campus on Sept. 16. There will be two locations for students to stop by between classes. We will have one tent outside of Marston Hall, just south of the library, and a second tent will be located on central campus near Curtiss Hall.
What will you be showcasing at Iowa State University?
Everyone is excited to share their John Deere success stories, examples of citizenship or volunteerism, and talk about their Iowa State experience. We want to encourage students to come and talk to the 50 plus John Deere employees that will be attending this event. Our tents will feature games, prizes and a John Deere trivia game. At the Marston Hall tent we will have a simulator featuring the latest technology from our Intelligent Solutions Group in Urbandale, Iowa. We also will be serving pizza and cookies for lunch.
What do you hope students take away?
We want students to come and learn about the great things John Deere has to offer as a company. Students can learn about our locations, the products we manufacture, the personal experiences of our employees, career opportunities and take home some great John Deere giveaways.
How can students learn more about opportunities at John Deere?
John Deere will be on campus a lot this fall. We encourage students to stop by on John Deere Day, attend one of our informational sessions, come to see our booth at the career fair, or visit our website.
When did you graduate from Iowa State and what was your major?
I graduated from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with a double major in agricultural Studies and agricultural communications in May 2013.
How do you think your college career helped you professionally?
At Iowa State I had the opportunity to be involved through organizations on campus and in my fraternity. This gave me leadership and problem solving experiences, both things that have been invaluable in my career. I work with people from all over the world to help drive problem resolution and product improvement, so the skills I learned are ones I use daily.
Other alums share their experiences:
Ilana Hay, '08 managment information systems, JDIS Online Product Manager
First and foremost, college helped me become more independent and kickstart my career. I wouldn’t be working for John Deere today if I had not stopped to talk to them at the career fair booth in 2005. College can help you reach your destination, even if you don’t know what that destination is yet. I still don’t know what my destination is even though I’m already in my fifth job with the same company, but I can say for certain that I’m enjoying the ride.
Nick Retzi, '06 computer sciences, IT Analyst
As a tech lead for an application development team, I feel that my computer science classes helped me become more proficient working in groups and also improved my problem solving skills. Being a teacher's assistant for several computer science classes helped prepare me to be a technical leader for an application development team.
Courtney Stillman, '10 management information systems (MIS)
My MIS classes helped me develop analytical and project management skills that have been key in learning and implementing new technologies. At the same time my general business classes gave me a basic understanding of different business functions which have helped in developing IT solutions to serve those functional areas within John Deere.