Written by: Emily Pliscott, Agricultural Communication & Marketing and Applied Economics Major Hometown: Kenyon, Minnesota After I finished the spring semester, I hopped on a plane with two suitcases and took off for the summer. I lived in Washington, DC for three months while I interned for National Farmers Union, a grassroots farm organization that advocated for farmers in Congress. During this internship, I dived into government relations, membership, and education for the organization. My responsibilities ranged from completing accounting tasks to attending committee meetings on Capitol Hill. I was amazed each day as I walked past a clear view of the U.S. Capitol on my way to work. I spent an entire summer in the place “where it happens” and was on the same block as large news stations that broadcasted all the way back home. I was able to meet people who were working in all my interest areas, from economics to policy to dairy, and sat down to coffee with professionals who seemed excited to get to know a student interested in their career fields. While so many pieces were exciting and even overwhelming, it was also a strange transition from small town Minnesota. The work and even the traffic walking down the street was faster paced, and I had to read daily news to keep up to date on the issues we focused on in the office. Throughout this summer, I learned more about the legislative process in Washington, DC and how an organization served its members. Even more, I realized the importance of having farmers and people in rural communities speak out to impact policy. The people elected to represent us are human too, and real stories and real people influence their decisions to create a better life for all Americans, especially the rural Americans.
0 Comments
Written by: Eva Doornink, Agricultural Communication & Marketing Major Hometown: Baldwin, Wisconsin This past summer I was the Communication and Marketing Intern for Alta Genetics. Alta Genetics is an elite company that provides dairy and beef producers with genetic and farm management information solutions that improve herd quality and productivity. I was based out of Madison, Wisconsin for the duration of my internship and worked primarily within the brand-new office. However, I spent many days out on farms with salesmen to learn more about the company and the products they provide. I started my internship in May, where I immediately began planning Alta's annual marketing showcase. I was able to visit numerous dairies within the Central Plains area in order to create promotional pieces and build better relationships with the host families. I worked very closely with Chrissy Meyer, Alta's Global Marketing Director, as I developed many marketing pieces throughout the summer. Through this internship I improved my design skills with programs such as; InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop and developed applicable promotional items for Alta. I explored all aspects of media including; design, photography, videography, social media, podcasting, drone videography, and catalog design. I was able to fully enhance my knowledge about the products and services Alta provides for customers, using this as a platform for writing opportunities. However, marketing was not the only skill I gained through this internship with Alta Genetics. I experienced intense employee training where I gained a new perspective of company culture. I learned the core mission and vision of Alta as I built strong relationships with numerous company leaders. I gained more knowledge about reproductive management and the importance of genetic planning.
Towards the end of my internship, I was able to assist with Proof Week. During these intense five days, I was able to witness some of the company's most important decisions alongside Alta’s employees. As an intern, I always felt very valued and trusted. I made hundreds of connections through this internship and built very strong relationships with my mentors. I feel incredibly passionate about Alta Genetics and truly believe in their mission. I am very thankful for this internship opportunity and I truly could not have asked for a better experience. I look forward to working with Alta during the school year. By: Jack Taylor, Agriculture Communication & Marketing Major Hometown: Burnsville, Minnesota During the past summer, I worked as a field intern for Sound Agriculture, a biological research company. Although the company was based out of California, I worked primarily in Minnesota. The main duty I had as a field intern was to help with the coordination of research trials in my territory. Through this role I served as a brand ambassador for Sound Agriculture. My responsibilities included speaking with trial participants and asking them key questions to build grower profiles and gathering any relevant information to help with the logistics of the trials such as planting and application dates. These tasks were completed by driving out to the trials myself and then communicating what was recorded with shared documents or spreadsheets made by the company. It was my duty to reach each of the trials in a given time frame, but it was my choice to schedule each day out the way I wanted. I believe that flexibility and solving problems under pressure were extremely important for this role. Growing up in a suburb instead of on a farm, I was new to many things in this position. I had never before had in depth conversations with farmers about how they earn their living. I learned a large amount of information that was directly applicable to things I previously learned in the classroom. This job helped me build my navigational skills both driving out to trials, and when I was deep in an eight-foot-tall corn field taking samples. The hands on experience and discussions with these growers helped me understand things more clearly. My knowledge of agriculture and current growing conditions increased tremendously because of the work I completed this summer. Written by: Catie Schmidt, Agricultural Communication & Marketing Major I spent my summer internship with Sand Valley Golf Resort where I was an Event Coordinator Intern. I worked alongside the Groups department creating marketing menus, setting up to create great events, building strong customer service relationships, and creating protocol for the years to come. Sand Valley is a new resort and we were the first group of interns. One of our roles was to create many documents to help the future interns. A few weeks into the summer, some of my managers sat me down to discuss a change in my role. They offered me another opportunity to help the on-course outlets manager. The on-course outlets would be the beverage carts, turn food stands, and a snack shack called Craig's Porch. My duties involved creating a whole new system to keep a correct track record of inventory, making many different procedures for all the different outlets such as opening, closing, and cash bank drop, and menu creation and prices. I was often asked why I was working at a golf course considering I am studying Agricultural Communication & Marketing with an emphasis in Crops and Soils. My answer was always simple, I wanted to experience the table side of the "farm to table" movement in agriculture. I could have easily worked with the agronomy department with on-course turf management, but I wanted to see how a restaurant would market their dishes to guests. They buy their proteins from local butcher shops, and they also grow their own herbs and spices in a community garden on property. They also have chickens on the property to help guests understand how chickens grow and the kind of the environment they create and live in. I am super happy and humbled to have been given such an opportunity to work and have my internship with Sand Valley Golf Resort this summer.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2020
Categories |