Wendy McManus will coach college students in the Southeast Produce Council’s Southeast Top Agricultural Recruits Scholarship, or STARS, program again this year.
The STARS program activities revolve around the SEPC’s Southern Exposure conference taking place March 3 to 5 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., according to a news release.
The students are invited to attend the event as special guests and can network with industry members and potentially secure internships or permanent positions in the produce industry.
“I really enjoy working with these students,” McManus said in the release. “They are smart, engaged and hungry for what’s next. I also find that they are very interested in growing their emotional intelligence, which is my specialty. It’s an honor to serve these students, the SEPC, and the produce industry in this way.”
Now in the third year of the partnership between McManus and the SEPC, the value of this program is proven, McManus said in the release.
McManus invites each of the students to complete a DiSC Agile EQ Profile and schedule a one-to-one debrief with her. Those sessions support the students, the release said, in growing their self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
The students also complete the online Authentic Networking for STARS mini course from Connect 2 Potential, according to the release. That course teaches the fundamentals of networking and conversation, including listening skills, asking great questions and preparing an elevator pitch, according to the release.
Clark Roper of Chik-fil-A, who is SEPC STARS committee co-chair, has been instrumental in making this program successful, McManus said in the release. In turn, Roper credited McManus for being a “tremendous asset for the STARS program and the students.”
“She meets each individual where they are, celebrates their strengths and helps them get ready for the next step in their careers,” Roper said in the release. “The mission of the STARS program is to recruit top students for job opportunities in the Southeast produce industry, and Wendy helps us do that by helping them feel prepared and welcomed in our world.”
Contact McManus for information about Connect 2 Potential.
