为未来开辟道路

吉尔·伊曼纽尔·鲁伊斯(Gil Emmanuel Ruiz)成为父亲后，这位前美国总统.S. 马琳知道是时候让他生活的其他部分正常运转了. For Ruiz that meant focusing on educational opportunities to help turn around his career.

幸运的是，他来对地方了.

这位老兵是第一批获得州立农场奖学金的人之一 未来之路 (讨论)项目, 这是州立农场和亚利桑那州立大学(ASU)在坦佩的合作项目, 亚利桑那州. 自2020年2月发射以来, PFF Scholars like Ruiz can take advantage of the various offerings aimed at professional development. 这个项目, 由州立农场奖学金资助, caters to the educational needs of a variety of learners — from high schoolers looking to continue their studies to adult learners focused on retooling existing skills.

“It’s not just a scholarship program — we’ve created a sense of community among these students,卡拉尼·赖斯说, 亚利桑那州立大学PFF项目的项目经理.

学生可以通过几种方式参加职业道路计划:通过学位, 证书或一次性课程，以定制自己的项目. The variety of offerings and custom career counseling allows students to mix-and-match educational opportunities to meet their career needs. Learners get help picking their own courses to create a “pathway to college,赖斯说. Another program goal is to increase degree completion by preparing students to enroll in the Ira A. 富尔顿工程学院，W. P. 凯里商学院或文理学院.

这个项目远远超出了学术范畴.

Students can tap into tailored career resources necessary to continuously develop and adapt to the workforce, 包括一个专门的职业过渡支持项目经理, 一个项目协调员和两个职业顾问. 许多参与者还利用了数字投资组合和 samsumen - samen -building服务. 经常, the additional support makes it easier to understand how to transition into a growing field while using their previous knowledge. 赖斯说:“这个项目非常强调指导的组成部分.

献给尼尔·布扬, 路径参与者, the scholarship program has allowed him to make connections while getting real-world work experience. 今年, the college junior was able to intern as part of the 状态 Farm purchasing department to gain hands-on experience. 拥有供应链管理和商业数据分析双学位, Bhuyan says that putting his studies into practice throughout the internship will make it easier to make the transition into a full-time job. “他们真的想培养你的未来，”他说. “我学到了很多.”

为明天培养技能

对于州立农场来说，这是一个 回报的机会. "The PFF curriculum helps students retool while incorporating educational opportunities around data and advanced analytics,埃德·伍兹说。, 州立农场企业责任主管. The goal is to enable career readiness across a wide swath of students by giving them an opportunity for a fresh start or to continue their education.

现在, the PFF program is focused on upskilling participants’ existing qualifications in order to find more promising opportunities. The need is acute in areas w在这里 technology and automation have changed the nature of work. 对于像状态 Farm这样的公司来说，这为填补空缺提供了重要的机会. “We’re seeing a number of people in the workforce that would be displaced and that would need new skillsets,伍兹说。.

PFF现在是州立农场在教育领域的标志性项目，专注于 提供奖学金 and certificate opportunities as well as specific courses for students to enter jobs in the data analytics space. “从经济角度来看，我们需要帮助那些流离失所的人, 帮助别人的一个方法就是有报酬的工作,伍兹说。.

志愿导师

多亏了这个项目, many 状态 Farm employees are also participating in mentor and volunteer opportunities as well as making appearances on campus (some via Zoom, 现在). The regional headquarters for 状态 Farm are nearby, making further collaboration easier. 最近, members of the 状态 Farm Hispanic Employee Resource Organization mentored students in the PFF program, 还有更多的员工与项目参与者一起参加了志愿者日活动. Company employees also regularly speak to classes about the ins and outs of professional networking. “It’s incredible to be helping students who are excited to get into their career and remove those barriers,Stacie Wylie说, 州立农业银行的企业责任分析师, 谁参加了志愿者活动.

Erin O ' conner, 可持续发展领导硕士项目的路径学者, 在家工作，一边照顾孩子，一边上亚利桑那州立大学的在线课程. 而这个项目帮助 减轻部分经济负担 为她, the career opportunities and resources have helped her put her education into practice in ways that make sense 为她 needs and passions. “They not only give you the financial assistance to earn the degree and gain the knowledge that you need, but then they also help you align with professionals in the area or just provide information of what you can do with those tools,她说。.

实现在线增长

Today, the program is growing beyond the ASU campus with an increase in virtual programming. 已经, 29,000名学习者登录了m3, an online interactive major and career quiz that was built as part of the offerings with 状态 Farm. 它允许学生探索他们的兴趣，并将他们与亚利桑那州立大学的专业相匹配. 自今年推出增强功能的工具以来, students from more than 75 countries have logged on to better assess their own career aspirations.

另一个可用的虚拟产品是MyPath2SUTM, a transfer guide for learners to understand how their transfer credits will be applicable to more than 400 ASU majors. “已经, 30多个,000 students are actively on pathways to ASU from community colleges locally and nationally,赖斯说.

随着项目的发展, the goal is to continue to offer both in-person and online curriculum to ensure the program can have an impact on the lives of students who need it most. “We’re looking to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for life and work in the 21st century,伍兹说。. “这体现了我们终身学习的理念.”