agreed

Methods in Industry- Dow I found J.D. Williams from Dow AgroSciences presentation interesting and unexpected from what I assumed I would be hearing when I came to class Monday afternoon. I am familiar with Dow Chemical Company and Monsanto, who he named as their main competition, but I was not aware of this division with Dow or what they do. I found it interesting to hear about this sect of the Dow Company and how they work to solve problem relating to crop production. When I think of agriculture, statistics is not the first thing that comes to my mind. I learned how studying the fields do produce a lot of important data which does need to be analyzed. I thought the example of how crops become resistant to chemicals and the way they have found solutions to those problems very interesting. I never considered how different areas of the country would react different to crop chemicals and these were all valuable facts that made me realize how wide statistics can go for a future career. In terms of personal information that I will take away from this presentation, I have looked into positions Dow has available at Research Park and this has encouraged me to further that exploration. I am realizing how much companies value math and statistic skills and what they are looking for in employees. J.D. mentioned how important knowing SAS and being comfortable with other statistical software is when entering positions of this caliber. I also feel learning about the background of what the main principles and works of the company are important even if they do not directly relate to the field I am studying in school because I may end up working somewhere where other areas tie into my job. When reflecting on his presentation, the first thought that comes to mind was that he was clearly comfortable as a presenter. One could easily see he was prepared, practiced, and well rehearsed. He was also passionate about his job and about sharing that information with others. While public speaking is a needed skill, some are more comfortable than others and you could tell J.D. enjoyed his time leading the class. He also shared his background and how he found his love for statistics which connected him to his audience of statistics students. All of these characteristic are something I hope I could replicate in future presentations because I think they are great examples of how a presenter should act to best engage their audience which is the key to any presentation. Diving into the bulk of his presentation, while I found the information relevant and factual, I had a few more issues with that aspect than the way he presented himself and the information. The slides were not designed in a memorable way nor were there a lot of creative features to draw the eye and keep people engaged. Similarly, there was no clear outline or purpose to the lecture. An outline or purpose to follow would have been nice where at times I felt like I was being thrown a lot of different, but important, information and I didn’t feel I was capable of processing all of it because of the manner it was given. While J.D. was here representing Dow, he discussed his past background with Chase and statistics in financial services. I found this to be very confusing and seemed to be off track from where the presentation seemed to going in the beginning. I think focus is important and keeping the points one wants to get across limited best allows the audience to fully understand the information. A final critique would be the lack of a handout, posted slides, or any sort of take away information. If I was presenting I would want my audience to continue to think about what I said after they left the room and the lecture was over. I think one of the best ways to engage people and help them further discussion and interest on the topic is to allow them to

leave with a piece of what you had presented. I think it would have been nice if J.D. could have found a way to do just. Also it would have maybe help inspired us with things to write about in this reflection or as we begin to embark on our career paths. Ultimately, I think the class period spent hearing about Dow AgroScience was ultimately worth wild even with the nitpicky flaws I described previously. As a student, my goal is to have as much career exposure before I graduate so when it is my time to enter the “real world” I am well informed and ready to boost start my career. J.D. showed me presentation skills I can only hope to master as well as he has and came off as an intelligent individual imparting us with very important information that is invaluable. I came away with a better understanding of not only his work but the wide arrange of work I can do with my statistic skills. It has encouraged me to keep my options open and research more into topics that interest me and how I can apply statistics to those in a future profession.