My name is Ashley Fitzsimmons. I was the 2017 Livestock Publications Council Intern and received the opportunity to intern with the American-International Charolais Assocation and the Charolais Journal. I grew up on a commerical cow-calf operation, predominately Angus cross cattle, in south central Kansas and have had the opportunity to experience all aspects of the beef industry. Although, I didn’t know much about the Charolais breed and had never worked with a publication. This internship was an amazing experience and helped me achieve many of my goals with agriculture communication.
At the end of May, I moved myself to Kansas City, MO, and started my new journey in this foreign world. I started in head first with helping plan and coordinate the American-International Junior Association Junior in Grand Island, NE.
My first Junior National experience was surprising on many levels. The high-quality cattle and the plethora of contests that the youth exhibitors had the opportunity to compete in as well as the informational leadership sessions was truly impressive. It was exciting to see stiff contest competition in areas of prepared speech, art, photography, interview and resume, and that is only scratching the surface. The two contests, team fitting and team sales, drew my attention from the beginning. It was enjoyable watch the youth talent fit their animal to perfection and trying to enhance the breed’s best qualities and confirmation in a specific time frame.
The AIJCA Junior National is a remarkable opportunity to meet breeders and families from all over the country. It is enjoyable to walk through the cattle barn and see the interaction between the different state youth organizations being involved in those conversations. Breeders, industry leaders and families working together to cultivate the next generation of cattlemen. This type of involvement is going to continue creating strong industry relationship for the Charolais youth as well as producing well-rounded industry leaders for the future.
At my time at AICA I helped in assisting with the planning and scheduling of the social media pages for AICA and AIJCA. My other duties included graphic design, press releases, website updates, and some photography. I enjoyed working on both the June/July and August issues of the Charolais Journal. This was my first time ever working with a publication so I was very excited for the opportunity to help with the design and even writing my column for the August issue.
Another exciting opportunity about this internship that the opportunity to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah for the Ag Media Summit hosted by the Livestock Publications Council. I was able to talk with many of the most amazing leaders in the livestock publications industry and made connections with the best of the best.
Unfortunately, August came too quick and I wasn’t ready for this amazing summer to end. The most amazing thing about my internship with AICA, AIJCA and the Charolais Journal is that I gained a new family while living in KC and was able to explore a whole new world that I would have never dreamed I would get to explore. Everyone at the AICA was so good to me and treated me like I was one of their own. I would recommend this internship to anyone who has a strong connection or interest in the livestock industry and would like to understand the ins and outs of a working for a publication. The LPC internship is an amazing opportunity to meet professionals and leaders in the industry.