Many students continue to work for their sponsors while in college. During the program, students are not directed solely toward careers as retail store managers. Mentors are encouraged to discuss other career pathways with students, and most retailers include a visit to their headquarters as a part of the training. Students receive certificates for the completion of each class in the school-based curriculum. Because these courses are used nationwide, the certificates are recognized widely.
Students also receive a certificate for completing the program.
The Cornell program is unusual in that it uses a curriculum that was developed outside the program itself. This broadens the worth of the certificates earned by students and increases students' value to employers. The program is rapidly expanding geographically and numerically, working through the framework of the cooperative expansion program twelve sites in the state of New Hampshire should have students in internships by the fall of 1997. More states, including Washington, California, Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota, Alabama, Georgia Virginia, and most of New England, will be added over the following few years, by which time more than 1000 students will be involved. USDA is an equal employment opportunity employer.