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Agricultural Communication & Journalism Internships

Certified Angus Beef- Nicole Lane

Nicole Lane- CAB pic

Honestly, I almost said no.

I came this close to turning the Industry Information Internship with Certified Angus Beef down. I thought there just might be something bigger and better out there when I hesitantly accepted the position as a sophomore last December.

I’m so thankful that I said yes because I couldn’t have asked for a better summer internship. I spent my summer writing about cattle producers who raise the best beef on the market. I got to tell the story of incredible agriculturalists. I expanded my writing skills by learning to write lengthy feature stories then tell the same story in blog and video form. I wrote a lot and absolutely loved it.

I learned to appreciate my days in the office and love the days out on the ranch. One of my most memorable adventures included a several day road trip with one of my supervisors visiting beef producers from Kansas all the way to Wyoming.

My summer at CAB (from about May-August) was spent not only becoming a better writer, but learning about the cattle industry. I went from a girl who didn’t know the difference between a stocker and a cow-calf operation to being able to read and write about beef research articles (Do you know what the Warner-Bratzler Shear Force Procedure is? Because I definitely didn’t!).

After meeting Steve Suther (my boss) when he came to speak to ACT last year, I decided to apply for the internship. Over a year later I’m still taking writing assignments from him as a freelancer.

Working for CAB is an experience I would recommend to anyone who can write and wants to become a better writer. If you don’t like to write, scratch that, don’t love to write, then it’s not for you. Truly, the hardest part of this internship for me was just simply battling writers block. Well that and learning the cattle industry.

However, it was all worth it getting to see my byline and story on the glossy pages of the Angus Journal. Even more so, getting to meet the people at American Angus who work daily on the media productions I got to create content for was an experience in itself. As a CAB intern I got a backstage pass to see the inter workings of the Angus Journal and the Angus Report both of which my work appeared in.

Above all, what made my experience at CAB so incredible was the people I got to work with. Though most of our communication was digital or by phone, the CAB’s company culture was (and still is) something that is fun to be a part of. Getting to work on a team that challenges each other, truly enjoys what they get to do and are very passionate about beef was an incredible experience.

This internship solidified my love for writing about agriculture and expanded my animal science knowledge. It was the perfect example of a career that I would like to pursue someday. So much so that when my internship ended, my work with CAB didn’t. I’m lucky to still be writing for the brand and learning that someday I hope to make work like this a full time gig.

Think this sounds like something you would like to be a part of? Check out CAB’s website or click this link to learn more http://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/recruiting/Description.aspx?id=168&utm_source=Other&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=intern

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