One hundred and seventy-five students and advisors gathered at the TCI EXPO ’22 for Student Career Day sponsored by Stihl, Inc in November in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Students came from all across the country from colleges and universities as well as technical schools, including Alabama A&M University, Allegany College of Maryland, Brigham Young University, Crossing School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Gateway Technical College, Madison Technical College, Piedmont Technical College, Purdue University, Sandhills Community College, Spartanburg Tech College, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, University of Tennessee, University of Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Wamogo Agricultural Science & Tech.
“It was a really productive day, and the students took advantage of all that we had to offer them,” said Erin Demers, TCIA’s Manager of Workforce Recruitment & Retention, who organized the event. “Students participated in roundtables and got to have one-to-one meetings with tree care professionals and attend live tree demonstrations.”
Participants were also invited to attend the three days of TCI EXPO, which allowed them to attend the two trade show floors, choose from 38 educational sessions and go to the welcome reception at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
“I learned a lot! I really enjoyed the opportunity to network and connect with sponsors. As someone who doesn’t know where they belong in the industry, I really enjoyed being able to explore different aspects of arboriculture. I also enjoyed the roundtables and speaking with others outside of my school’s program. I am excited for 2023,” said one of the students.
Stihl Inc. has sponsored this event for more than 15 years and is a big advocate of helping to build a pipeline of tree care professionals to meet the demand for arborists. “We love supporting students and exposing them to all the great opportunities in the tree care industry. It’s an exciting time to work in this field, and there are many opportunities. We want to foster and inspire the next generation of tree care workers and give them every chance to thrive in this industry,” says Adam Wolff, event marketing specialist with STIHL Inc.
Other sponsors included Arborscapes, Asplundh, Bartlett Tree Experts, The Davey Tree Expert Co., Heartwood Tree Service, Monster Tree Service, PlanIT Geo, Rainbow Tree Company, SavATree, and Wachtel Tree Science Inc.
The next Student Career Day will take place at TCI EXPO ’23 in St. Louis Missouri. For more information or to be put on the mailing list for updates on next year, email studentcareerdays@tcia.org.
