Second Year (2015-2016) Year in Review
This spring I had my first coop rotation. The experience of coop pushed me in two major ways, one was the coop application process, and another was the time I spent at the actual coop. Initially I believe I went into the coop application process too “cocky”. I had told myself I had a good GPA, a resume filled with past experience and extracurriculars, and strong communication skills once I got into the interview room. Because of these credentials I had the opinion that a good coop would find me, and that I would not have to work very hard to find one. I was wrong. As my friends and peers slowly accepted their coops and were interviewed with companies I had applied for, I sat, and waited. After waiting I would begin to panic, and send my resume and call as many companies as I could. During the fall before my spring coop I had three interviews, none of who asked to hear back from me. This constant denial from companies took a huge blow to my ego. I continued to apply to companies across the country every day for hours, and most I did not hear anything back from. And then one day, out of the blue, a upperclassmen sent me an email on his company that we was currently working for and told me to apply, it was a perfect fit and they would go on to hire me. This experience taught me self-humility, to work proactively, and that sometimes you can’t control your fate, but rather events just happen and you must take advantage of them right there and then.
During my spring coop I worked at RBI here in Cincinnati. I worked in their commercial greenhouse division working on water systems and semi-project management. First years are often told that in their first coop rotation a company will often not give you very much responsibility, that it will be boring, and you will be lucky to work on one or two items. That was not the case with RBI. I was instantly put in charge of tasks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and was held responsible for my results.
The part that I loved most about my coop at RBI is that it allowed me to use my talents and skills I have acquired to give back to society. My work in the greenhouse sector connected to my environmental sustainability passions through water conservation and sustainable fertilization. For example the largest project I worked on was a 3 acre aquaculture lettuce facility. An aquaculture facility is one where a fish farming facility and vegetable facility are connected on a circulation water supply system. This facility will keep millions of gallons of water in the water table as it will not experience the evaporation waste that common agriculture methods have. It will also not bring in harmful fertilizers and pesticides that could contaminate water tables as it will use the fish waste as fertilizer and insect netting in the greenhouse to control for bugs.
I will be returning to RBI during the fall of 2016 and the goal I have set for myself is that I will strive to be more self-motivated. During downtime or slower periods I will focus on the work at hand and work proactively on advancing my understanding of greenhouse horticulture and on future projects.
During my spring coop I worked at RBI here in Cincinnati. I worked in their commercial greenhouse division working on water systems and semi-project management. First years are often told that in their first coop rotation a company will often not give you very much responsibility, that it will be boring, and you will be lucky to work on one or two items. That was not the case with RBI. I was instantly put in charge of tasks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and was held responsible for my results.
The part that I loved most about my coop at RBI is that it allowed me to use my talents and skills I have acquired to give back to society. My work in the greenhouse sector connected to my environmental sustainability passions through water conservation and sustainable fertilization. For example the largest project I worked on was a 3 acre aquaculture lettuce facility. An aquaculture facility is one where a fish farming facility and vegetable facility are connected on a circulation water supply system. This facility will keep millions of gallons of water in the water table as it will not experience the evaporation waste that common agriculture methods have. It will also not bring in harmful fertilizers and pesticides that could contaminate water tables as it will use the fish waste as fertilizer and insect netting in the greenhouse to control for bugs.
I will be returning to RBI during the fall of 2016 and the goal I have set for myself is that I will strive to be more self-motivated. During downtime or slower periods I will focus on the work at hand and work proactively on advancing my understanding of greenhouse horticulture and on future projects.