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Agricultural Communication & Journalism Internships

Author: kmtully

Soil isn’t Dirt: My Internship with the K-State Department of Agronomy – Danielle Comstock

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Agronomy is the study of plants and soils and their environment. Before I began working at the Department of Agronomy, I had no idea how it was different than any other agricultural science. Now, I struggle to put it into words for the opposite reason. Agronomy is too complex, too interesting of a science to put into one definition, and I’m the communications intern.

I first heard about the internship from my advisor, Dr. Lauri Baker, in July 2016. They were looking for an agricultural communications student to be their communications intern to work during the school year. I’ve worked there ever since. I really enjoy the environment at the department. My supervisor is the department head, Dr. Gary Pierzynski. However, I work for anyone in the department that wants help with a communications project. My main task is managing the department’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. I have also helped with making educational videos, designing posters for displays, taking photos out in the field, greenhouses or even of drones flying through the air, writing articles and press releases, working on the departmental website and so much more. One of my favorite things is that I get to work with so many different people.

Caption: Just another day in Agronomy. I got to go out and capture photos of the UAS270 class flying drones as part of the precision agriculture option.

I also love learning more about agronomy each day that I work there. One of my first few weeks there, the eUpdate editor at the time, Steve Watson, asked me to tweet an eUpdate article and to find a generic photo of wheat to go along with it. After about a minute, I had tweeted the article with a close-up photo of what I thought was wheat. After about half an hour and several engagements on the tweet later, Steve turns to me and says “Danielle, that’s not a photo of wheat.” It turns out, the photo that I thought was a pretty photo of wheat was missing the awns, or as I fondly refer to them, the spiky things. He quickly took the tweet down and put up one with a correct photo.

Caption: K-State bred wheat variety Everest with awns. Photo courtesy of agfax.com.

While it was quite embarrassing, that is something I may have never learned if I had not worked at the agronomy department. Also in my time there, I have learned to never, under any circumstances, call soil “dirt.” It is virtually a sin to use such a derogatory word for one of Earth’s most precious and valuable resources.

I really enjoy getting to do so many aspects of communications. It ensures I never get bored with my job. I have been able to gain experience in social media and gathering analytics from various platforms, while the next day you can find me in the field trying to find the best angle to shoot video of a field of whatever crop is growing at that time. I recently just tried my first hand at advertising on social media. Each day is different. I get to work with a variety of audiences as well. The Twitter account mostly targets practicing farmers and agronomic professionals. I work with student recruitment and our other two social media platforms target prospective and current students, which is a whole new age group. I even get to work with kids when we promote and hold the Agronomy Kids’ Field Day. All in all, it’s a valuable experience that would be hard to find anywhere else.

Caption: Manhattan elementary school students learning about soil at the Agronomy Kids’ Field Day.

A final aspect that is truly great about my internship at the agronomy department is that I can present new ideas and the people I work with are always willing to listen to those ideas and help me put them into action. As an example, when I started the job, the department did not have an Instagram page. I presented the idea to my bosses and described the value an Instagram account could hold for gaining students in the program. While they had little knowledge of the social media platform, they trusted me and let me implement the idea. That was just my first day on the job! Often as an intern and student, it becomes easy to feel undervalued. I appreciate that the people I work with treat me as a colleague, and not just as a student. I have been working at the department for two years now and hope to work there until I graduate. I learn something new each day, whether it be about agronomy or about being the best person I can be. I would recommend this job to anyone, not simply because it’s a good, paying job, but also because the people and experiences are almost impossible to beat.

International Charolais Assocation and the Charolais Journal- Ashley Fitzsimmons

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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.

Kansas Water Office- Karli Pryor

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Over the summer, and throughout the fall 2017- spring 2018 school year, I interned with the Kansas Water Office, as a graphic design intern. I found out about this internship through the Agricultural Communications List-Server, and applied by sending my resume and cover letter to my now supervisor. I would recommend this internship to anyone interested in design, video projects, and social media work.

While I worked on a variety of projects, my “day-to-day” design work is creating graphics for KWO’s social media, mainly Facebook and Twitter. This ranged from looking at the national calendar and seeing if any upcoming national days could relate to water, to looking through KWO’s previous projects and creating social media graphic templates to showcase these projects. Along with building the graphics, I also had to develop wording for posts and decide the best hash tags and people to tag in order to gain more interaction with each post.

My biggest projects over summer were to develop a universal template design for various fact sheets. The water office wanted to move to a more professional look, which meant giving their various sheets a cohesive look. Since it is a government agency, fact sheets are handed out to legislators, lobbyist, senators, etc., having a further developed brand and design makes our sheets more recognizable, which was an exciting part of my position, and knowing that my work was making a difference.

I was also lucky to be able to travel around Kansas this summer taking pictures and videos of different lakes and reservoirs around the state to create factual videos about them. This was something I proposed to my boss, which ended up being very successful. It was definitely a learning experience, since I do not have very much photography experience, I was able to expand my portfolio and learn more about photography and videography through this project.

The work I have done during my tine at KWO has greatly increased applicable work for my portfolio. My supervisor was great about working with me to develop projects that suited my interest, and talents. I felt that since I was able to mold my experience with them, I was able to build on to what I want to do with my career.

Purple Visions Production – Carlee Meeks

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This fall, I took a risk by interning for a small livestock photographer. It was not the typical internship by any means. The owner of Purple Visions Production, Derek Vogt, approached me about coming to work for him. I’ve always been interested in career in livestock photography so I decided to take the chance and learn the ropes from an extremely talented photographer.

Unique is one way to describe my experience. Unlike most internships, I was the first person to join the business. Although it was a difference experience, it was the perfect fit for me. Derek has grown his small business so much in the last two years, it was an honor to learn and work with him by traveling around Neb. and Kan. to different cattle operations. He taught me all the necessary skills needed while also pushing me to grow and learn things on my own.

Every weekend I would hit the road and travel to new cattle operation. These operations need videos and photographs to promote their online or production sale that they have upcoming. It is intimidating to be responsible for such a large task because the operation relays on it for their success. Derek trusted me by giving me my own livestock shoots. Because of his trust in me, my confidence in my photography skills has grown so much in the past three months.

My other responsibilities for Purple Visions included contacting and communicating with clients, finding potential clients, posting content on Facebook and designing graphics for clients. In the past, Derek has not offered any graphic design. It’s exciting to have the opportunity of growing the company by offering another area of skills that I have worked on developing.

My biggest area of growth that I realized was my ability to work independently with minimal supervision. I also recognized my ability to communicate effectively with my employer and clients by listening and then producing accurate content that they envisioned.

Through my many activities at Purple Visions I have grown as a photographer, designer and overall communicator. I’ve grown to love this business and the people that I get to work with each week. I look forward to where a career with Purple Visions will take me. Taking the risk of interning for a small business worked for me and it could work for you too if you’re willing to take the chance.

 

Kansas FFA Foundation- Kelli Schrag

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I interned at the Kansas FFA Foundation as the Events and Donor Outreach Coordinator. My duties included creating social media campaigns, contacting current and potential donors and designing graphics for mailers. Through this internship, I learned the importance of professionalism, as I’m not only representing myself but the Foundation and Kansas FFA members. I also learned how to write in a manner that suggests interaction and donation from the reader. My biggest area of growth was definitely my graphic design skills. In the past, there were two interns at the Foundation with one being specific to graphic design. However, this year all responsibilities were shifted to my position. My favorite part of the internship was the environment that I worked in. My desk was next to the Kansas Farm Bureau interns and the vibe was always positive in our row. My least favorite part of the internship was calling potential donors and asking for their partnership in a certain scholarship or sponsorship opportunity. I was always nervous whenever I called and that really didn’t change no matter how many calls I made. Still, it was a good skill to practice and it will help me in my future job. Much of what I did during this internship is applicable to my career goals. My goal is to work in a communications or marketing department for a livestock association. Learning how to write an effective campaign, developing my design skills and practicing my communication skills will all be beneficial for this line of work.

I learned about this internship through the department listserv. There aren’t set dates of the internship- I was hired my freshman year and am currently still working for the Foundation. Because so much training is required for the position, the goal is for an intern to work for the Foundation for the majority of their college career. Once the intern position is open, applications can be sent to Beth Gaines, the Foundation Executive Director. Applications consist of a resume, work samples and references. I would recommend this internship to underclassmen looking for a growth opportunity in the communications field. Creativity, a strong work ethic and a positive personality are great attributes for this position.

Chappelow Events- Elizabeth Cooper

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When I told everyone I was going to intern at a wedding and nonprofit events planner this summer I got one of two reactions: “Wow! I am so jealous,” or “Good luck dealing with bridezillas!”  But I would not have traded this summer for the world.  Stepping out of my comfort zone allowed me some of the best opportunities for growth and learning about another industry’s trends.

From May to the end of July, I interned at Chappelow Events, a wedding and non-profit event planning company started by Beth Chappelow.  I first learned about the internship from a family friend, who thought I might be a good fit for the position.  The application process was a fun challenge that required creating a vision board for a stylized shoot, drafting sample emails for vendors and creating an event timeline. After submitting my application materials, I was offered a video interview and received the position a few weeks later.  That spring I attended the internship orientation in Kansas City where I was able to meet Beth, her assistant and the other intern from the University of Missouri.

A few of my responsibilities this summer included attending vendor and client meetings, creating materials for both internal and external events, managing client profiles and timelines, providing assistance for event days and assisting in the development of social media strategy and content.  While that may seem overwhelming, the work was fun because it was something new or different everyday.

Some of the most rewarding aspects of my internship were the long event days.  We had a series of different events we worked during the summer ranging from weddings, styled shoots at the Grand Hall,  a venue launch party at Camp Miola, the annual Bank of America Celebration at the Station, and a hospitality event for vendors and clients of Chappelow Events.  These days kept our team on our toes and were great opportunities to build connections.

My favorite aspects of the position were being able to create and design tablescape for our internship project and learning about how the event industry utilizes social media. The internship project Beth created, allowed each intern to create an original tablescape from the ground up.  We were then able to learn from different vendors to create our vision.  One of the most interesting aspects I experienced was learning about how the event and wedding industry uses social media, especially Instagram.  Their work is very visual, so Instagram is the perfect platform to share their content.  As a team, we created social media strategy to plan out the Chappelow Instagram Events for an entire year.

This summer was truly one of my favorite experiences and if I had not been able to be flexible and willing to step outside my comfort zone, I would have never been able to meet the wonderful people or gain the experiences I did.

To apply for this internship, look for updates on the Chappelow Events website: chappelowevents.com.  This would be a great internship for someone who wants to live in Kansas City for a summer and are interested in social media and stepping out of their comfort zone.

Hay & Forage Grower Magazine – Lauren Peterson

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After months of stressing about finding an internship and scanning though the ACJ group emails, my advisor sent out an email regarding the Hay & Forage Grower opportunity. Hay & Forage Grower is a monthly magazine owned by Hoard’s Dairyman and based out of their office in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Prior to this internship, I knew next to nothing about forages and had only one semester of ACJ classes under my belt when the H&F editor took a chance and hired me for the summer.

This internship was eye opening to say the least. Beginning mid-May, I spent the summer learning everything about magazine production, from interviewing and writing feature articles to capturing stock photos. Because we only really had two people on staff besides myself (an editor and advertising coordinator), I was able to learn a wide variety of skills. I learned a lot about copy editing and how to set up a good feature article through reading other’s work. My biggest area of growth was probably in photography. While I wouldn’t call myself a photographer, I was able to get a lot of practice, and the Dairyman’s art director really helped me understand the basics of lighting and exposure.

My main tasks were writing two Forage Flashes (shorter articles that would appear online and in the newsletter) a week, copyediting all material for both our magazine and the Dairyman, contributing stock photos, updating press releases on the magazine’s website, creating the weekly newsletter and daily social media posts on four platforms. In addition, I also contributed to the magazine by writing feature articles, compiling other author’s work and findings into articles and writing summery articles of the newest relevant research.

One of my favorite aspects of this internship was all of the travel. My first two weeks were partially spent traveling around Wisconsin with my editor to get pictures of a producer at different stages of his baling process. In my few short months I also traveled to western Illinois for the Illinois Forage Expo, flew to Louisville, Kentucky to interview a beef producer in southern Indiana and was sent to Yuma, Arizona to attended a press day for the newest in AGCO baling technology and machinery. My favorite, however, was a photo trip across Michigan with the editors of both magazines to collect stock photos and get stories for upcoming issues. We spent four days traveling across the state to visit over a dozen dairies and grass fed beef operations.

I would definitely recommend this internship to anyone interested in writing for an agricultural magazine. Knowledge of forages was not necessary to get the job although I did end up learning a lot about forages and dairies in the process. I worked closely with the staff of both magazines and everyone was very involved in helping me learn and further my professional development. Every year both Hay & Forage Grower and Hoard’s Dairyman have an internship opportunity and students can send their application materials to Mike Rankin or Abby Bauer.

Department of Entomology at K-State – Kelsie Beaudoin 

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Last spring I interned with the department of Entomology at K-State. While I was there it was my job to bring more attention to the program. I helped with the communications side of the department, as well as any office tasks that needed done. A few of my primary responsibilities were writing & editing weekly spotlight articles, and updating the departments social media accounts. I also had the opportunity to help with the K-State Extension Newsletter, and working on different designs for the departments yearly newsletter.

My favorite part about my internship was writing the spotlight articles. I thought they were very fun. This allowed me to meet new people and bring the students and staff together. It was a great way for everyone to get to know each other outside of school. I also enjoyed updating the social media accounts. I posted weekly jokes to gain more followers for the department. I enjoyed my internship, however I wish it went more in depth with different aspects of communications, such as more writing and design projects.

During my internship I learned that doing things out of your comfort zone is very rewarding. I never expected that something so different from my major could open as many doors as it has. I learned that writing articles and interviewing people is a great way to get to know them. One big thing I learned was that helping others is rewarding no matter the task.

This internship was a good way to touch all of the bases in the communications field. I would recommend it to anyone passionate about communications, but are looking for something out of their comfort zone. The location was wonderful and it was very flexible with my schedule. I not only gained knowledge that will help me with my career path, but even more so about entomology and how important it is to be knowledgeable in as many subjects as possible.

KANZA Inc., KMZU 100.7 FM – Molly Bertz

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Sarah Evans wrote a song in 2005 called “Missing Missouri.” I listened to it on repeat during the fall and spring semester of my sophomore year. After spending two continuous years in Manhattan, Kansas, I badly missed the summer breeze floating into the open windows of my parent’s farm house. I knew that this would be the last time to be  “dependent” on my parents, to see my brother enter his senior year of high school and to enjoy nights under the stars with my family. So I took the chance to take a summer internship that allowed me to be located at home and gave me the flexibility to enjoy a sweet Missouri summer.

During the months of May through August, I interned at a local farm broadcasting station in Carrollton, Missouri called KANZA Inc., KMZU 100.7 FM. I heard about the internship while listening to the radio as I was driving home one weekend. I emailed my resume and cover letter to my supervisors and attended a formal interview in their office a few weeks later. There were two interns including myself and our duties were catered towards our interests and skills.

During my internship, I conducted interviews, wrote news articles, conducted live remote broadcasts, coordinated a promotional giveaway and managed social media and design.

As an intern, I learned more about the medium of broadcast journalism. This form of journalism relies heavily on sales and advertising, as advertisement dollars are needed to fund the music and programming that airs on the station. Our radio station also offered 24-hour local news coverage, which meant we remained updated on the current events in over 15 counties.

My duties throughout the summer were various, but I spent most of my time working on our promotional giveaway that occurred throughout the entirety of the summer. I attended many remote broadcasts and collected entries to win our $14,000 Mahindra XTV. We partnered with a local Mahindra dealership to create a promotional campaign for both their business and KMZU. We conducted “pop-up” entries throughout the summer as well through social media and on air call-ins.

I quickly learned that no matter where you work, big or small, you will always encounter someone who does not agree with your idea. It was humbling to learn that I couldn’t be married to an idea, story or design. Although I may have thought the product was outstanding, the approval of my supervisor was superior to my wants. Because I was willing to adapt and change based on the decision of a group, my employers were pleased with the end result.

My favorite part of the summer was attending remote broadcasts. Throughout the course of the summer, these events also challenged my thinking and provided me with a better understanding of what I hoped to do in the future. I learned through these events because I saw what an importance this small, local radio station was to the community. People were eager to talk with the DJ and finally put a face to the name they listened to every day. Every tractor in west central Missouri was tuned in to hear our bottom and top of the hour farm market reports. KMZU was many community members source for local news. People came to fairs, festivals and fundraisers because they “heard about it on the radio.”

Although my internship didn’t have a fancy title or wasn’t attached to a widely known company, I still found it to be worthy. Many believe that radio, along with newsprint is a dying breed. Broadcast journalism mediums may be changing, but I believe they still have a large role in the continuation and success of rural America.

Through this internship experience, I have a better understanding of where my interests lie. I hope to work not in broadcast journalism, but in advertising and marketing communications. More importantly, this internship highlighted the benefits and challenges of working a rural community. I want to live and raise my family in a small town similar to those I was able to work in this summer. This “dream job” may not come with an engraved nameplate or a fancy office suite, but I can help impact the lives of others through my work and give back to a community and a place that has given so much to me.

Ringel Farms- Sarah Krehbiel

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I interned with Ringel Farms out of Alma, Kansas this past summer. They grow grass fed beef, pastured pork, and chickens. They marketed their products at the Downtown Topeka Farmers Markets throughout the spring and summer. They also have a website. My duties were to create a brochure about their farm and products, create a monthly (which ended up being bimonthly) newsletter, keep their Facebook page up to date, and various other promotional posters. I learned about this internship through an email from the ACJ department. To apply next year, there will be an email sent out through the department next spring.

My favorite part about this internship was attending farmers markets and interacting with the consumers. My least favorite part of this internship was that it was unpaid, however the internship was remote, so I was able to live at home and work with them via email and phone calls.

I learned that you have to be extremely clear and concise when promoting agriculture to the public. My biggest growth is being able to better convey a clear, concise and truthful message about agriculture to consumers, farmers, and ranchers.

I plan to have a pick-your-own vegetable farm with my sister next summer. Our main goal is to educate the public about agriculture and where their food comes from and how it is raised. This internship has showed me how to better educate the public and even farmers and ranchers, on agriculture and promoting agriculture. It has showed me just how important it is to educate the public!

This internship is not just for any individual. Ringel Farms is looking for an individual that can help them better implement agricultural communications to promote and disseminate their products. At the end of the internship, I realize more than before, how very important it is to convey a truthful message about agriculture not only to the public but also to the farmers and ranchers.

International Grains Program Institute -Taylor Belle Matheny

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The start of a new year is a time many of us enjoy to begin something new. For me, the beginning of 2017 was the start of my internship at the International Grains Program (IGP) Institute. The IGP Institute focuses on serving Kansas and U.S. grain commodity organizations through education. Each month Manhattan welcomes domestic and international participants that are attending a course hosted by IGP.

As an intern, my responsibilities include developing the Stakeholder News Brief, writing press releases, writing year in review story’s, updating the website, and taking course photos. The ability to develop my skills and grow in these different areas has opened my eyes to an entire new side of agriculture.

From the beginning, I wanted to challenge myself and grow during the internship. The courses I took prior to my internship taught me the basics of writing, photography and design, but I knew that I needed to develop a stronger set of skills. Throughout the semester I have been challenged in each area and have seen improvements in my skill set. One of my greatest improvements was being able to use Adobe software to create graphics that are appealing to our target audience.

Looking toward the future and a career, each aspect of my internship will be useful in the workforce. The skills I learned will be applied to my future career, but I believe other parts of my internship will be just as beneficial. Learning to communicate with others in the office outside of the communications department has taught me how to work with all types of coworkers. These lessons have allowed me step outside my comfort zone and network with other individuals.

The most exciting part of my internship can be tied to the famous line; “no two days are the same”. Each morning I enjoy being assigned new tasks that aren’t in my normal day-to-day routine. The various projects with IGP commodity partners and within the institute make that line come to life. This has made each day different and has given me the chance to use my creativity on projects.

The ability to learn about a different aspect of the agriculture industry has been the most rewarding part of my internship. Being raised on a beef cattle operation in Kentucky, I didn’t have a true understanding of the grain segment of our industry. My internship has given me the chance the combine my passion for learning, agriculture and communications into one remarkable experience.

Land O’ Lakes- Shaylee Arpin

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Many people see the name Land O’Lakes, Inc. and recognize it as the butter company. But what they don’t know is that Land O’Lakes is so much more than that.

This summer I interned for Land O’Lakes in Minneapolis, Minnesota as a communications intern for the multiple Land O’Lakes entities: Purina Livestock Nutrition, WinField United and Land O’Lakes Dairy Foods.

Land O’Lakes is a national, enterprise cooperative made up of smaller, regional or local cooperatives. The member cooperatives can either be dairy or crop cooperatives, or both. Cooperatives makes up the enterprise of Land O’Lakes that includes a farm to fork view.

Throughout the summer, I had opportunities to work with producers all over the U.S. and write articles for the Land O’Lakes member news website and intranet along with completing a summer-long project.

The communications team at Land O’Lakes is made up of smaller teams, each having a particular communications focus. This summer, I focused on member and governance communications.

The Land O’Lakes member news site is updated with stories almost daily. Over the summer, I wrote more than 10 articles that were published on the news site and internally through Land O’Lakes’ intranet. My favorite article I wrote was about two Kansas producers who attended a conference in D.C. representing Land O’Lakes.

I also wrote direct member communications for our governance department. This included information from new board member elections to new regulations passed through legislation. I also got to design a campaign surrounding leader elections. This included a new look and new messaging.

This summer, main project was developing the communications plan and media for the Best Talent Survey. A survey taken every two years and used to benchmark the Land O’Lakes workplace environment and how employee feel about their team and job.

Overall, I really enjoyed getting to learn about the differences between a regional and national co-op and my summer projects. Land O’Lakes provided me with the opportunity to improve my writing and editing skills. Additionally, being able to develop and work through a communications plan will be an important skill for my future career.

Land O’Lakes has a ton of opportunities for interns. From working in the field to working in the corporate office, students have many options for internships. To find out more about their opportunities, visit the Land O’Lakes website landolakesinc.com. In addition, Land O’Lakes has expanded their Global Food Challenge to include Kansas State University. The Global Food Challenge is open to all sophomores, regardless of major and provides students with a summer learning about global agriculture and trips throughout the U.S. and to South Africa. For more information visit foodchallenge.landolakesinc.com or contact me.

American Shorthorn Association- Leah Giess

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Growing up in the cattle industry I knew instantly that I would love to intern at a breed association. I am very active in my Junior Association and knew I had the knowledge and experience to feel comfortable in this internship setting. However, going behind the scenes of a junior nationals or leadership conference is A LOT more work than what it seems when you are just attending or participating in the event, it was truly a learning experience.

In May I started my position as the Communications and Marketing intern for the American Shorthorn Association in Kansas City, MO. In my position I assisted in the planning and scheduling of the social media pages for ASA, AJSA and NJS. I researched for promotional items and assisted in the production of the Association’s publications. Other duties included graphic design, press releases, website updates, photography, and videography.

Some of the projects I enjoyed the most this past summer, were working on the exhibitor folder for the National Junior Shorthorn Show, and interviewing junior exhibitors for spotlight articles in Shorthorn Country magazine that will be published continuously throughout the year. Another fun activity the other interns and I did was weekly blog posts. These blog posts included everything from beef recipes to our go-to stockshow jam playlist.

Another exciting opportunity about this internship that I loved was the opportunity to travel. The National Junior Shorthorn Show was in Tulsa, OK and the IGS-Summit Youth Leadership Congress was in Lincoln, NE. These trips were filled with hard work but also spontaneous trips to the Tulsa aquarium and Karaoke nights in Lincoln.

The most important thing about this internship is that it is amazingly fun. Everyone in the Shorthorn office is so kind and really wants the interns to learn and grow. The other interns and I would host spontaneous hula-hoop competitions and insist on fiesta potlucks. I would recommend this internship to anyone who has a strong connection or interest in the cattle industry and would like to understand the ins and outs of a breed association.

Kansas 4-H Foundation Intern- Janae McKinney

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As a freshman it was a bit of a struggle to find an internship which was welcoming and inviting to underclassmen. However, I found my perfect fit at the Kansas 4-H Foundation where I worked with two other interns, Mikey Hughes and Ben Yarnell. I started in April, where I tried to help complete as many projects as possible before I left on my Italy study abroad trip. In May, I would be gone in the thick of the foundation’s event planning. Luckily my trip finished just two days before the first event I helped with, the 4-H Emerald Circle Banquet.

I had attendee the banquet before but I had never seen the ins-and-outs of the operation. After helping with both the banquet and Friends of 4-H Day, I discovered my passion for event planning which has led me to dual-major in Hospitality Management and Agricultural Communications.

Throughout the summer I was able to work well with different mentors in various areas of the foundation. I started with events, completed writing and press releases, made donor contacts and finished the summer with a well-rounded experience. I loved getting to dabble in multiple areas of communication and work with a team. Coming to work and catching up with everyone in the office was always fun.

I would highly recommend this internship to anyone interested in communications, agricultural or otherwise. This internship would also work well for a person with a background in 4-H since I worked with 4-H projects and donors all summer. For a first-time interning opportunity, I loved getting to see how a great team works together and communicates effectively. It created a high standard of a working environment for me to work in one day.

My Summer Working for Monsanto- Danielle Comstock

Posted on by kmtully

Oh, the sweet silence of the office at 7 a.m. This is my favorite time at work because it is the time that I leisurely check my email, sip on my coffee, and mentally prepare what I need to accomplish for the day. However, today I am reflecting on my summer at Monsanto because today is my last day.

I first heard about this opportunity when my little, Kaylyn, sent me a screenshot of the job posting. “Corporate Employee Communications Intern,” it said. I’m not going to lie, my heart dropped a little when I read the job description and found out that the internship was doing internal communications. I said “Thanks, but no thanks,” and moved on with the job search. But something kept tugging at me to give it a second thought. Internal communications was something I’d never considered, but it would be a great opportunity to challenge myself and grow professionally.

I opened my laptop and applied. Weeks later, Dierdra Yates, my future manager, offered me the job.  She gave me three days to accept, but me, being the eager student I am, asked if I could accept the job right then. After Dierdra said “of course” she gave me all the specifics of the job. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t listening. I was already out the door and walking to go tell my best friend the good news when she got out of class.

I began the internship on May 15, where most of the interns gathered in a room for our orientation. There, I met some really cool people. Monsanto hired interns from many different backgrounds. Some who came from farms, and some who didn’t know the difference between a corn plant and a soybean plant. There were interns from all over the globe, and interns who I consider to be way smarter than me. There were science and research interns, finance interns, even legal interns. And then there was me, one of the communications interns.

At orientation, University Relations encouraged us to begin networking right away. One of my favorite things about Monsanto is that no one is too good to talk to you. I met with several people from all over the company. It didn’t matter to them that I was only an intern. Everyone was willing to share their knowledge and experience with me. Whether they gave me an hour or 15 minutes, they took time out of their schedule to learn about my career goals and offer their insight.

During my internship, my two main responsibilities were to manage the weekly St. Louis Scoop newsletter that went out to the 4,000+ employees in St. Louis, and help with planning and promoting for the company Ambassador program.

The Ambassador program trains employees to have meaningful and informed conversations about Monsanto and modern agriculture. Working with the Ambassador program was a great experience because, if you haven’t heard, Bayer is in the process of acquiring Monsanto. A lot of employees were asking the question “Why do we need to talk to people about Monsanto if Monsanto isn’t going to be a thing anymore?” The thing is, agriculture is going through a lot of changes right now, and the Bayer deal is just one of them. It was my team’s job to show ambassadors why we needed them now more than ever.

My main project with the program was to create and implement a campaign to recruit employees to the program. My team also just created a survey for members to fill out that would help them personalize the program to each individual ambassador, which I also promoted. With this project, I learned how to create a campaign using goals, strategies, and tactics.

Kristen, the person I worked most closely with on the team, challenged me to step outside of my comfort zone while we were running the campaign. When we were promoting at the Chesterfield campus, we were having a hard time getting people to stop at our booth. Kristen made me leave the booth, *gasp* and go talk to people while they were eating lunch. *bigger gasp* I felt terribly awkward the entire time but it worked! After employees finished their lunch, they came to our booth.

We didn’t meet all our goals for the project, but that is another thing I learned. It’s okay to not meet every goal you set. When you don’t meet a goal, it gives you an opportunity to learn from it and try again with new strategies. I have struggled with this personally my whole life. It becomes easy to feel less of yourself and grow weary when you fail. But the path to success isn’t all green arrows. As our CEO, Hugh Grant, might say, red arrows are okay sometimes. They motivate us to improve.

Monsanto evaluates all employees on five core competencies: Relationships and Networks, Courage and Candor, Agility, Initiative and Foresight, and Results Orientation. Three times this summer, we were asked to evaluate ourselves on these competencies. At the beginning, where we identified which ones were our weaknesses and strengths; halfway through, where we reflected on how we had progressed on each one; and last week, our final evaluation of how we had grown in each competency. While Dierdra and Kristen told me that I possessed courage and candor on my first day, I know differently.

When UR told us that we would be evaluated on these, I knew my weakest one would be courage and candor. I often am self-conscious and afraid to share my ideas. So, during orientation, I made it my goal to be courageous and confident this summer. At the beginning, it was definitely me putting on a lion’s mask and pretending with all that I had. However, now, I feel confident and courageous. This is where I grew the most this summer and I can’t wait to carry it with me in my future.

In closing, Monsanto has been an amazing company to work for. Not only because I am passionate about everything the company stands for, but also because the people here are amazing. They are all caring, whole-hearted, passionate people who work diligently to pursue agricultural innovation and each person knows the value of investing in people. I am so grateful for the people who chose to invest in me this summer. I would recommend this internship to anyone, and you can apply for this internship and many more here when they start recruiting!

With that, I’m off to my last newsroom meeting. *sobs quietly*