The Pack Family Career Pathways Scholarship brings top agriculture and food marketing students and faculty from eight U.S. universities and four international universities to PMA's Fresh Summit Expo and Convention each year. This unique experience includes customized educational workshops covering topics such as a general produce supply chain overview, a "branding you" session and a career path discussion panel. Students are provided with numerous opportunities to network with industry professionals and walk the exposition floor. An industry mentor is assigned to each student to answer questions, introduce them to other industry professionals and simply help them embrace the myriad of opportunities and rewards the produce industry has to offer. Students are given pre-conference assignments to help them prepare for the event and add more value to the learning experience.
"The Pack Family/PMA Career Pathways Fund directly supports one of PMA's strategic initiatives. PMA has consistently identified 'attracting talented people to the industry' as one of the key long-term challenges facing our industry worldwide. Reaching out to top food and agriculture students and showing them the wide range of opportunities in the produce industry will help enhance the professionalism of the industry and develop our future leaders. We are very grateful to Jay and Ruthie Pack for having the vision and commitment to provide the funding for this initiative."
Bryan Silbermann
President, Produce Marketing Association
2009 University of Queensland
PMA Fresh Summit/PMAEF Pathway Program
Schools are hand-selected for participation in the program to maintain not only a manageable and successful experience each year, but to also create an intimate environment that fosters personal development and camaraderie. The eight U.S. universities include University of Michigan, Texas A&M University, University of Florida, Cal Poly University, Cornell University, UC Davis, Arizona State University, and St. Joseph's University. The four international colleges include University of Queensland (Australia), Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile), University of Pretoria (South Africa) and University of Stellenbosch (South Africa).
Since its inception in 2003, 195 students have participated in the Pack Career Pathways Program. Of these 195, 134 have graduated and 62 took their first job or internship in the produce industry.
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