A 1-credit career orientation course at Texas A&M University was evaluated based on 5 years of entry and exit surveys and student performance. Students strongly preferred peers to introduce outside speakers and gain experience in communication, compared with having a faculty member lead the class. Outside assignments--involving resume preparation, professional interviews, and field trips--enabled students to enhance job-related communication skills and gain broader perspectives on crops, soils, turf, and agri-business. Before enrollment, less than 15% of the students had prepared a resume, but by the end of the fall semester 26% had used their new resume to obtain a job or scholarship. Students from both rural and urban backgrounds demonstrated excellent abilities to integrate concepts from lectures into concise 2-page papers. Although 95% of the students expected to receive an A, only 75% earned this grade. The greatest deficiencies contributing to low grades were poor attendance and inability to follow instructions in completing written assignments. Participating faculty felt that students focused on career goals sooner and gained a stronger sense of commitment toward graduation based on the realization of exciting job or graduate school opportunities in the future. (Contains 4 tables.)