{"id":222,"date":"2024-03-29T20:13:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T20:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/?p=222"},"modified":"2026-03-03T20:47:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T20:47:56","slug":"shadowing-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/2024\/03\/29\/shadowing-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Shadowing success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How OSU’s job shadow program helped Kyle Joy chase his childhood dream.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Kyle<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kyle Joy loves rocks and volcanoes. Loves them so much that he left behind a 12-year career in restaurant management to study geology at Oregon State. His dream job? Getting paid to research his passions full-time as a professional geologist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when he saw a possibility to connect with an OSU alumnus who works at the U.S. Geological Survey by signing up for OSU\u2019s Job Shadow program<\/a>, Kyle was all in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cI saw USGS and I just zeroed in on that,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to work in the USGS.\u201d The fact that the alumni host for this job shadow worked in Hilo, Hawaii \u2013 a place where Kyle had family members living \u2013 made it even better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few months after learning about the job shadow program, Kyle was in Hawaii meeting with scientists at the USGS\u2019 Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center<\/a> and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe amount of time and compassion all of them took to meet with me, it blows my mind. It\u2019s been the most impactful thing to happen to me at this university.\u201d<\/p>\nKyle Joy, Geology student, 2023 Job Shadow participant<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in its sixth year, the Job Shadow program<\/a> matches OSU students with alumni and other working professionals who have successful careers in fields that the student applicants are curious about. Job shadows typically take place over the summer and provide students with the chance to observe life on the job, ask questions, and learn from the host they\u2019re matched with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Kyle had family in Hawaii, he chose to travel to Hilo and complete his job shadow in person. Most OSU students get matched with a host who works near where they will be spending the summer, or complete long-distance job shadows virtually, via video meetings and informational interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Job shadow experiences can last anywhere from a half day to several days. In Kyle\u2019s case, when his job shadow host, M. Renee Bellinger, learned of his passion for volcanoes, she found a colleague at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), Ken Hon, who was also willing to meet with Kyle. Kyle spent several days in Hilo, learning from both Bellinger and Hon. During his time with Hon, the HVO scientist asked Kyle to join in the HVO team\u2019s morning meeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was on Zoom with like 150 scientists,\u201d Kyle recalls. \u201cI talked for five minutes about who I was, and then he said \u2018Would anyone else be willing to speak with Kyle?\u2019 So many people raised their hands. It was an outpouring of willingness to help an eager student. I had to pinch myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal connections like this are the one of the reasons OSU launched the program, according to Wendy Allison, External Relations Manager from OSU\u2019s Career Development Center, who leads the Job Shadow program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Job Shadow program is a fantastic way for students to start building their professional network now,\u201d she said. \u201cComing out of the program, students are more confident and prepared for their future because of the connections and experiences that they\u2019ve had.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

A photo showing layers of rock strata in the Hawaiian landscape, taken during Kyle Joy’s 2023 job shadow, shadowing geologists working in Hilo, Hawaii.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Back in Corvallis, Kyle is completing his geology degree, figuring out what\u2019s next after OSU, and remains in touch with his job shadow host. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis program gave me consistent interaction and communication with an alumni in a way that feels meaningful and sustainable,\u201d he said. \u201cI would definitely recommend it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the 2026 Job Shadow program, more than 100 placement possibilities are open to students, in fields ranging from forensic pathology to designing motion graphics for video games to cybersecurity consulting. Job shadow application<\/a>s<\/a> are open through May 1, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Learn more about the Oregon State Job Shadow program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Job Shadow program details<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possible host sites for 2026 Job Shadow participants<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sample questions to ask during your job shadow<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How OSU’s job shadow program helped Kyle Joy chase his childhood dream. Kyle Joy loves rocks and volcanoes. Loves them so much that he left behind a 12-year career in restaurant management to study geology at Oregon State. His dream job? Getting paid to research his passions full-time as a professional geologist. So when he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11177,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,36,7],"tags":[15,40,38,3],"class_list":["post-222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-job-shadow","category-networking","category-success-stories","tag-college-of-earth-ocean-and-atmospheric-sciences","tag-job-shadow","tag-networking","tag-success-stories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11177"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":327,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions\/327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/horizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}