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.