141SU prepares grads continuer.'
workshops, hosts 12 major career events each year,
"Whether it's floor governance in residence halls;
organizations, completed four internships, studied
and coordinates the roughly 15,000 on-campus
participation in student and volunteer organizations,
abroad in Ireland, competed on the women's rugby
interviews that take place each year.
preprofessional clubs, or Greek life; or simply group
team, and was a member of MSU's chapter of the
work in classes, MSU makes a deliberate attempt to
Society of Women Engineers.
Preparing students for life after college goes well
engage students in leadership opportunities."
beyond the classroom at MSU.
"Education is a public, not just personal, good," says
June Youatt, senior associate provost at MSU. "What
we learn benefits not just us but also the people and
places we touch."
"Working with the Society of Women Engineers
Eva Reiter, a December 2009 graduate who received a
allowed me to attend regional and national
degree in mechanical engineering, accepted a
conferences," says Reiter. "It helped me find my first
position with General Electric Aviation as a
big internship, and it gave me the chance to hang out
manufacturing cell supervisor in Madison, Kentucky,
with some really awesome female engineers."
as part of a leadership management program. In
Youatt notes that MSU offers students myriad
addition to academic courses at MSU, she juggled
opportunities to better themselves and others.
several jobs, participated in nonacademic
Brett Kopf, who in December 2009 received a
bachelor's degree in food industry management, is a
social media consultant in the process of launching
his own Web-based start-up company.
The most popular destinations for MSU graduates include Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. About
"I did have multiple internships, which really helped
49 percent of MSU grads stay in Michigan, but Spartan graduates can be found throughout the nation—
me figure out what I want to do now, which is to start
and around the world—in a wide range of interesting and impressive careers. A destination survey of 2008
my own companies," says Kopf. "The career advisers
MSU graduates includes:
at MSU push internships pretty hard for a reason.
research scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico
assistant editor at Rolling Stone
They connect you to industry professionals but, more
important, allow you to explore potential
magazine in New York City member of the grounds crew for the Texas Rangers baseball team in Arlington
°urban coordinator for Atlantic Records in New York City
°engineer at Bell's Brewery Inc. in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia
occupations."
kindergarten English teacher in Beijing, China
"The advice I'd give to current students is to focus on
patent examiner for the U.S. Patent and
what they're really interested in," says Bishop. "The
business analyst at McKinsey and Company in Pittsburgh,
people at the front of those lines who are looking for
Pennsylvania °educator at Sea World in Orlando, Florida °music and math teacher in Bamako, Mali
..., -Asornamonwasase-•-•
_
jobs are the ones who are the most passionate." 0
_
Ham ri
Groundbreaking study focuses on children's health
"It's the monster study. It's the biggest human health
other diseases, many illnesses are as common now as
study ever done," says Michigan State University's
they were when he was born. He and others involved
Nigel Paneth, University Distinguished Professor of
in the study hope to change that. The goal is to start
epidemiology.
studying children before they are born and follow
Paneth is describing the National Children's Study,
which takes aim at solving the biggest health
them until they are 21.
"We need to collect information when the kids are
challenges to the lives of children across the country.
healthy, before the sickness hits," Paneth says. "Once
Autism, asthma, cerebral palsy, and premature birth
they're ill, it's too late. We've missed the boat."
are among the targets of the groundbreaking study
funded by the National Institutes of Health.
This means looking deeply into the lives of thousands
of Michigan children, beginning by literally going door
As principal investigator of the Michigan Alliance for
to door to identify and to enroll in the study women
the National Children's Study, Paneth is leading the
who are either pregnant or, ideally, hoping to become
study's efforts for the state.
pregnant.
Across the nation, researchers will be monitoring more
than 100,000 children and the environmental
influences that may affect them. The massive
"It really won't be burdensome for participants," Paneth
says. "The children will be examined once a year."
MSU's Nigel Paneth is the principal investigator of the Michigan
Alliance for the National Children's Study—the largest human health
study ever conducted to understand childhood illness.
children and families in the additional four counties.
Enrollment is set to begin this year with preliminary
results expected in 2011.
Research conducted on this scale can succeed only
through cooperation and partnership, says Paneth,
who serves on the board of directors of MSU Hillel-
the Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student
About 1,000 participants in each of five Michigan
Center. Along with Michigan State University, the
counties—Genesee, Grand Traverse, Lenawee,
Henry Ford Health System, the University of Michigan,
Macomb, and Wayne—will be followed in the study. In
Wayne State University, and the Michigan Department
addition to $18.5 million received for work on the
of Community Health, as well as the health
study in Wayne County, in 2008 MSU secured an
departments of each of the five participating counties,
Paneth says that while over the years research has led
additional $57 million from the National Institutes of
are collaborating on the project. 0
to reducing the rates of heart disease, cancer, and
Health to expand its role and enable the assessment of
undertaking will examine air, water, and soil quality, as
well as nutritional and socioeconomic factors to
determine what role, if any, the environment plays in
diseases that reveal themselves during childhood.