Purdue students look to Cedar Rapids for future employers

A spring break tour of area businesses may help convince some Purdue University students to live and work here.

Priority One in Cedar Rapids is coordinating a visit by 18 students from Purdue's College of Technology. The program is intended to assist employers looking for quality interns, as well as potential new hires.

Mike Brooks, 28, a sophomore at Purdue, is majoring in computer graphics technology. He said tours of ADM, Alliant Energy, General Mills, Hall & Hall Engineers, Quaker and Rockwell Collins have shown the students what is required after they graduate.

“You don't work a calculus problem. We're learning that you use problem-solving and critical-thinking skills,” Brooks said during a visit to Hall & Hall Engineering in Hiawatha. “We're at the point right now where we've had our general questions answered and now we're getting to company specifics.”

Brooks, who is married with a young family, said he likes what he's seen in terms of the overall community.

“I like the small-town feel and big city appeal,” he said. “The schools in the area aren't too big, so I think it would be a wonderful place to come live and work.”

Ankitha Gadag of San Diego, who will graduate from Purdue in December, was surprised at the number of industries in Cedar Rapids.

“I'm dual majoring in industrial technology and industrial distribution,” Gadag said. “I didn't know some of the technology that they have at General Mills existed. It's very high-tech.

“General Mills would be a great company to do an internship.”

Kari Lammer, director of work force initiatives at Priority One, said Cedar Rapids area employers expect to hire more than 700 interns this year, but they are facing some challenges.

“The problem is really twofold,” Lammer said. “Not only are employers cutting their recruiting budget and reducing the number of college career fairs they attend, but the best and brightest students are getting offers from three or four companies. That allows them to be more selective about the opportunity they ultimately pick.”

Richard Ransom, president of Hall & Hall Engineers in Hiawatha, said the firm expects to hire three or four interns this summer.

“We're doing some geographic information system work for the city of Hiawatha this year that will require some data gathering,” Ransom said. “We also hopefully will be working with some developers who have submitted applications for an Iowa Department of Economic Development grant program.”

Lammer said the visit by the Purdue students is intended to do more than introduce them to employers in the community.

“Often when we talk to students from outside the area about Cedar Rapids, they have no idea what our community has to offer,” Lammer said. “This is our chance to showcase all the advantages available to young people in our community.”