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April 9, 2026 by Office of Public Outreach and Communication
In middle of students from left to right Students with the Executive Marketing Director David Troupos, Vice President and Community Manager Melvin Rodriguez, Branch Manager Andrea Rodriguez, Vice President and Community Development Manager Seyi Ola, JP Morgan Chase & Co. team following their community resources and career session, held on March 26, 2026, at Rutgers.
In a traditional classroom, learning often ends when the lecture does. But during Spring 2026 at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, students engaging with the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics (DAFRE) stepped into something different—an experience where coursework extended directly into conversations with industry leaders, entrepreneurs and decision-makers.
Sonal Pandey, lecturer in the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
Guided by Sonal Pandey, a lecturer in DAFRE, the externship-driven course in Business Finance and Innovation and Entrepreneurship reimagined what it means to prepare students for real careers.
“This initiative grew directly from the conviction that the most transformative learning happens when students are in the room with the people who are actually doing the work,” Pandey said.
She created and designed the Spring 2026 industry engagement series around a simple but powerful idea: exposure to real professionals, who grapple with real challenges, is not an enhancement to learning, but the learning itself.
“Students in agricultural and resource economics are solving some of the most complex problems of our time, like food security, sustainability and community development,” she said. “They deserve direct access to the people doing that work professionally.”
Over the semester, students engaged directly with leaders such as Sho Islam, Director of the Office of Business Engagement for Middlesex County; Melvin Rodriguez, Vice President of Community Banking and Business Development at JPMorgan Chase & Co.; and Lukman Ramsey, Head of AI Solutions and former Google leader in public sector innovation.
Each session was intentionally structured, ranging from founder talks and mock interviews to live pitch simulations. Students were not passive listeners, but active participants navigating real-world scenarios.
Students from Innovation and Entrepreneurship class in the Environmental and Business Economics major.
And for Pandey, what set the experience apart was what happened after the sessions ended.
“When a student tells you they followed up with a JPMorgan VP, or that a guest speaker invited them to a professional conference where they made real connections for their startup—that is not a classroom outcome,” Pandey said. “That is a career outcome. This program exists to make that the norm, not the exception.”
Connecting Conversations to Career Pathways for Students
For many students, those outcomes became immediate and tangible.
Sarah B. Hogan followed up with a JPMorgan executive and secured introductions to professionals in her target field—transforming a single classroom interaction into an expanding professional network.
Don O. Lopez, a student from Pandey’s “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” class, has been invited for an interview by Seyi Ola, JPMorgan’s Vice President and Community Development Manager.
Anjo Therattil, Founder & CEO of Lock Guard, presenting to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship class on January 29, 2026.
Kush Kavadia leveraged a post-session conversation into LinkedIn connections and outreach within the energy and sustainability sector. “This course completely changed how I approach my job search,” he said, noting a shift toward relationship-building over traditional applications.
Marian J. Hollenbeck turned a conversation with Sho Islam into a real-world opportunity. “Sho told me about an event the following week that I attended,” she said. “I made several connections personally and for my hydroponic farming project that I hope will take off in the near future.”
Beyond individual success stories, the externship model reshaped how students think about careers, entrepreneurship and opportunity.
Isaac Levin, who followed up with industry professionals after class, is now being introduced to senior leaders in the sustainability field—an outcome that would be difficult to replicate through traditional coursework alone.
For Aneil L. Persaud, hearing a peer founder present a startup journey reignited his own ambitions. “The spark is back,” he said. “I’m excited for the future.”
Across the cohort, students reported a fundamental shift: entrepreneurship was no longer viewed simply as starting a company, but as identifying and solving real problems—often in collaboration with others.
Designing a Model for the Future
Pandey, an academic with more than 18 years of experience across economics, business administration and AI integration, also brings a global perspective shaped by her work at institutions such as Hannan University and Shanghai Technical University.
Her long-term vision is to formalize what Spring 2026 demonstrated: a structured externship and industry engagement program embedded within DAFRE.
“This externship initiative is my way of building that bridge,” she said. “I want to see it become a permanent part of what this department offers every student.”
Such a program would create sustained partnerships across agriculture, finance, sustainability and entrepreneurship, offering students not just exposure, but continuity through mentorship pipelines and co-curricular experiences.
What began as a course innovation has the potential to become a model for how higher education can evolve to meet the realities of today’s workforce.
And for Pandey, the goal is not simply to repeat it, but to scale it.
“This is about building something lasting,” she said. “A system where every student has the opportunity to step into the room and leave with a future already in motion.”
Pictured 4th from left is Sho Islam, Director of the Office of Business Engagement, Department of Economic Development, New Jersey, with students, following his presentation. DAFRE’s Sonal Pandey is front row, fifth from left.
Filed Under: Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Community, Faculty, SEBS Departments, Staff, Students .