Resources

We are very fortunate to be surrounded by so many generous Cooperative Extension professionals throughout our country. Dr. Brian Raison from The Ohio State University exemplifies the concept of "giving as you go" throughout his distinguished career. In that spirit, this guest series launched with valuable insights for early career professionals! The ideas shared in this series are extracted from Dr. Raison’s 2024 book, The Encouraging Mentor: Your Guide to 40 Conversations that Matter . This...

Registration is open now for the Rural Grocery Transition Specialist program! This self-paced, online course is designed to train resource providers to better support rural grocery business transitions. Students who successfully complete the course will earn a microcredential through K-State Global Campus. The course will be held September 9 through December 8, 2024. Register by August 30, 2024 at ruralgrocery.org/specialist.

As Extension professionals, you know firsthand the challenges your community faces. Today, we're excited to announce a powerful opportunity to enhance your support for your community and the military families that live within them.

Your Personal Mission A personal mission is a statement about your why. This is what drives you to get out of bed in the morning. It describes what you believe is most important in life, what you wish to focus on, and what you want to be known for. If you allow it to direct your thoughts and actions each day, it has the potential to direct your life and achieve the future you want. I often tell my students to consider doing this exercise and then holding on to it. When one finds themself...

Two new "Research Snapshots" share preliminary findings from a groundbreaking survey that examined the caregiving experiences of households in the North Central and Northeast regions of the U.S. These publications serve as a complement to two recently published, open-access regional datasets that resulted from the survey.

Triangulating Your Skills, Abilities, and Interests to Find Your Future What do you enjoy doing? What are you good at (i.e., your natural gifts)? Where do you want to learn more? These three items, together, can powerfully steer you toward your desired future. Let’s talk about that today. Most people have multiple gifts. Many people can do a variety of jobs, and career paths are frequently not linear. Anecdotally, my friends and former students share that their journeys have been directed...

Five Things to Have, Do, Help, and Be: A Personal Futuring Exercise At a very early age, most people are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” We often prompt young minds with examples: “Do you want to be a firefighter? A teacher? A farmer?” But what if there is a more important question: “Who do you want to become?” This is qualitatively different. This is perhaps the best question to ask to prompt future thinking, focus, and goal-setting. In this blog series, I’m attempting to...

Agricultural fairs and exhibitions are in full swing across the U.S., and with the recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dairy cows, it is important to know how to protect animals from diseases before, during, and after an event. A highly effective strategy for doing this is with biosecurity, the preventative practices that protect farm animals from getting sick and spreading diseases. An online series of learning modules is helping students discover what...

How do you want to be remembered? This is a rephrase of the classic Steven Covey question from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People . It is one of the most powerful questions one can ever ponder. In this blog series, I’m attempting to both challenge your thinking, but also encourage your progress. You may consider the question prompt in this post alone, or in conversation with a friend or mentor. Let’s begin. Look at the question below. Spend some time with it. It is a definite brain...

This blog series offers questions from my teaching and practice at The Ohio State University where I coach and mentor numerous faculty, staff, students, and organizational units to help them move toward mission and accomplish goals. If you are reading this blog (and discussing the question prompts with a mentor), your responses will reflect talking with another person. But if you are using this resource on your own for personal and professional development, you can still ask yourself these...

Imagine a point in the future where you have achieved your greatest professional goal. Invest a moment here. Try to visualize your career success—you are at the top of your game. Imagine you’ve worked hard and have earned this. Now consider this question: How might that success feel? I think most people will have some level of contentment or satisfaction. Others may feel a bit of pride in the accomplishment. Some may begin to ponder, “What’s next?” Those responses are all normal and valid.

The Extension Foundation and Dr. Raison are partnering to present this series offering self-study materials and advice for career growth. The series will focus on early, middle, and later career stages. We are proud to share this series with the Cooperative Extension System! The ideas shared in this series are extracted from Dr. Raison’s 2024 book, The Encouraging Mentor: Your Guide to 40 Conversations that Matter . This is a how-to manual for mentors, teachers, coaches, and anyone...