September 06, 2024

Chemical engineering major Abby Law was one of 28 students in the U.S. selected to attend the 2024 Dow Diamond Symposium.

At Mizzou Engineering, we pride ourselves on providing students with hands-on learning experiences, with faculty and staff eager to help students find unique career development opportunities on and off campus. This summer, chemical engineering student Abby Law had the experience of a lifetime at the Dow Diamond Symposium in Midland, Michigan.

Law is a Mizzou Engineering Ambassador and is involved in Mizzou’s local chapters for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). She also works for the Engineering Career Services office, which hosts professional development workshops, offers resume reviews and helps students find jobs, internships and co-ops.

She chose chemical engineering because of her passion for both chemistry and calculus. After speaking with young chemical engineers at her father’s workplace, she realized it was the right path for her. So when she learned about the Dow Diamond Symposium, she was excited to network with Dow leaders and receive professional career development advice.

“This was a wonderful opportunity that I would recommend to anyone,” she said. “The process of applying to go to the symposium was well-communicated and easy to understand. Leading up to the week of the symposium, we were all given a Dow contact who would be our mentor. We had at least three virtual meetings with them before the event to make sure that we were as prepared as possible.”

Dow is led by Chair & CEO Jim Fitterling, BS ME ’83, who was inducted into the Mizzou Hall of Fame in 2022.

Only 28 students in the country were selected to attend the symposium. We asked Law to tell us a bit about her experience.

Tell us about the DOW Symposium. 

The symposium was incredible. Most of the sessions were focused on telling us about Dow’s goals and values, or employees telling us about their experience with Dow. There was a lot of encouragement sprinkled throughout as well. 

Something that I appreciated is that while everyone wants the student attendees to work at Dow eventually, they didn’t make it seem like it was the only option. They focused a lot on telling us about how we are successful and bright students who can accomplish anything we put our minds to. It was wonderful to get information about the company and also general career and life advice, as well as words of encouragement.

What was a typical day like? 

Most days started with breakfast around 8 a.m. before we went to different sessions to hear speakers and do activities. We had breaks in between speakers to eat snacks or and mingle with the other students and Dow staff. Every meal we had we were surrounded by peers and employees, so we constantly had time to make real connections to Dow employees and network.

For some events, we were split into our potential job functions (based on our majors and interests). Because I’m in engineering, one of the things I got to do was take a tour of one of their manufacturing plants.

Not all of the sessions were presentations, some sessions were open Q&As. We also did a few different activities to break up the informational sessions, including putting together hygiene bags for a volunteer project, an iron chef cookoff and a group supply chain activity. All of the activities were tons of fun and helped all of us bond and get to know more about each other.

How did Mizzou Engineering prepare you for this experience?

Between networking with employers at various events and being an Ambassador, I felt very prepared. This was a week-long networking event, so having public speaking skills was very useful. Some of the things that were asked of us required problem-solving, so my engineering courses also greatly prepared me to think on the fly and come up with comments and solutions to problems.

What did you enjoy most about attending the Symposium?

I enjoyed the people I got to meet. Between the employees and students, I was able to meet so many great people and most of us are still connected and in contact. I was worried that the symposium would feel super awkward, but it was a really great experience, and I got to leave it with friends from all across the nation.

What have you learned from the experience? 

I have learned a lot about what opportunities I have going into my career and about what employers look for in their employees. Developing professionally happens the fastest when you can practice your skills, so having a week-long event to practice those skills was incredibly helpful.

How did attending the symposium help prepare you for your career?

After attending the symposium, I know I have a lot of opportunities to potentially work for Dow in the future, and I have tons of professional connections that I can use to network for different jobs. I also practiced so many professional skills and I got to see a bit of what I could do one day with my degree.

Beyond practicing professional skills, we were given tons of life and career advice to help us in the future. It was very clear throughout the whole symposium that it was designed for the students’ benefit, and not as a way for Dow to find employees.

What advice would you give other students wanting to pursue opportunities like this one?

Stay involved in things you are passionate about. Make sure to apply for whatever opportunities you want because you never know what jobs or opportunities you can land. The more you practice your professional skills the more impressed people will be with you, even if you don’t feel you have as strong of “technical skills” or experience in your field. 

Thanks for sharing!

Reach out to Mizzou Engineering Career Services to learn more about professional development opportunities on and off campus.