Hi. My name is Wade Hutchens.
I'm from Ewing, Illinois.
I transferred to ISU
from Rend Lake College.
and I study animal science and
animal industry management.
So, when I was looking at
transferring from my junior college,
which was Rend Lake, I went on a lot of different visits,
and when I came to
Illinois State it just felt like home.
So, I got a tour of campus, I got a tour of the farm
which was super important to me.
And then I was just really
happy with all the opportunities
that the ag department presented
to me when I was here.
If there's one word I could use to describe the transition it would be "smooth."
Uh, when I went to Rend Lake
College I received three degrees
and it was going to be super
important to me that a lot of my
stuff transferred in and I was
able to continue in my
bachelor's and be on
track and on time.
It was really a seamless
transfer━everything transferred
in from Rend Lake College.
And because of that I was able
to complete two degrees here
in animal science and animal
management.
I'd like to think I was super
involved here at ISU
and that's what made my
time here so great.
I'll speak to two different
things that really helped
get me involved.
One was an Ag Night.
It's basically a big pizza party at Hancock Stadium. It's a lot of fun.
It's where all the
fraternities, sororities,
and, um, clubs and organizations
━a part of the Ag department
uh, go and they set up booths.
You can go, walk around, get
free pizza, go to their
first meeting.
Uh, and see which one's the
right fit for you.
I also think it's really
important to work on campus.
So, I became an ambassador
for the Office of Admissions
here at ISU, where I gave tours
and worked in the office.
So I got to talk to prospective
students and maybe see if this
would be the right fit for them
too and become their home one day.
My next step is grad school.
Continue my degree in swine 
nutrition.
Uh, I think ISU had a lot of
different ways they helped me
prepare for it. Sitting down
with my faculty and advisors,
uh, comparing different schools,
them writing me letters of
recommendation. And also, I
utilized the Career Center a lot
You know, with the resume
writing, cover letter writing,
and mock interviews. I
think that helped prepare me
for , uh, the interview process
going to different grad schools.
And then also, I think, uh,
going to all the career fairs.
We have tons of career fairs
both in the fall and the spring.
But we also have an ag-specific
career fair where they offer
internships. It's in the fall.
Over 50 companies come
and, like, every year. And
because of that career fair
I was able to land two different
 internships during my time here at ISU.
♪♪♪
[cow mooing]
