It's Right In Front of You

It was the time of my life where I decided I needed to get a big kid job. With still another year of schooling, I knew I needed to look for an internship before I graduated and was finally out in the prominent scary place called “the real world.” I remember hearing classmates of mine talking about the fantastic internships they had in prior years. They ranged from Ag in the Classroom interns at there Extension office back home to even as big as interning at SeaWorld. I was so excited to see what internship I would receive. 

Fast forward to May of 2019. School is ending, and I still did not have an internship for the summer. What was I going to do? It seemed like everyone had a job lined out for the summer except for me. At this point, I was desperate to find a job anywhere, even if it required me to stay home for the summer. I was still waiting to hear back from one position I had already interviewed for, and the anticipation was getting to me. I finally received an email about the position. This email was going to define my summer. Was I going to be interning, or was I going to be seen as a failure? I nervously opened the email which read they had already filled the position with someone else. I. Was. Devastated. My summer plans had changed tremendously. 

Despite the bad news that rendered my upcoming summer, I still had to proceed through my daily life. I continued with my classes and my current job. I step into the office I worked in, and the first thing my boss asked was, “So what did you hear about your internship?” The only thing that was running through my head was the thought of how disappointed she was going to be when I tell her the job we have been talking about for the past three months was nonexistent. I begin talking and before I could spit it out, she says, “I knew you would get it!” While the moment was filled with excitement, I then proceeded to tell her that I was denied the offer. She, too, was surprised with the disappointing fact that I was still did not have an internship for the summer.

After a little more conversing, she says, “Well, I wonder if we, here at Extension, could be your internship?” While I was super grateful for the offer, the job I had creating closed captions for videos did not sound exciting for the whole summer. But I was in desperate need. She did some asking around, and I accepted the internship my boss had offered me. A summer full of creating closed captions was now upon me.

I arrive to work the next week preparing to see the following video my boss wanted me to caption. But instead, when I arrived, she was waiting for me with a whole list of tasks she had planned. I went from someone who knew only the basics of Microsoft Office to working with Articulate and Adobe programs. I had no prior experience with these programs and was pretty incompetent when it came to things like this. But no worries. My boss new and was very patient with me during the learning process. I learned to become pretty proficient with using these programs.  

Throughout my internship with Illinois Extension Web Department, I have helped organize and create several online courses for the Certified Crop Adviser website, filmed and edited promotional videos, coincided with smaller projects, and above all, enjoyed my time. I have learned many new skills that will be very beneficial to me when it comes to finding a job in the “real world.” But, most importantly, I learned that sometimes the thing you're looking for is right in front of you.  

Science For A Better LIFE

This summer I was fortunate to continue working at Bayer Crop Science Innovation Center at The University of Illinois Research Park. I was able to extend my project working with the University Relations Strategy team out of the corporate office in Chesterfield, Missouri. Even though, I have been with the company since 2017, I went along with 17 new summer interns for the orientation at the corporate office in Creve Coeur, Missouri. While it was my very first visit to the corporate campus, the other interns referred to me as “mother hen” the entire trip as being a “veteran employee” I always made sure we were where we needed to be and answered any questions they had.

While I spent most of my summer in the office continuing the university relations project, I was also strung to take on many other tasks within the Innovation Center. As an Ag Business Analyst, I spent the majority of my time cataloging recent Legacy Monsanto university collaboration data to determine the business purpose/intent of the collaborations. I spent days learning how to use the program, Spotfire. Then, I developed a Spotfire tool to help visualize the legacy data that will in the end be the foundation that the Bayer University Strategy Team will use to optimize the benefits derived from university collaborations across Bayer. Being the “veteran,” I worked closely with the other interns and developed “intern spotlights” and “intern profiles” to distribute weekly to their project leads and higher leadership within Bayer Crop Science. 

Throughout the summer, as a group we were able to take a tour of Bayer’s White Heath and Thomasboro (my old stomping grounds) locations. Coming from working out in the fields every day to sitting in a large open office space, it was an adjustment so luckily, I was given the opportunity to take the lead and get out of the office and get my hands dirty while cleaning up and maintaining our pollinator habitat out back of the office.

One of the greatest parts about interning with Bayer is the networking experience. Everyone within the company is very passionate about the work they’re doing and the work the company is doing. I have previously gained two mentors from the Thomasboro locations but luckily, I was able to take a full day this summer to travel to STL and spend the whole day networking around the Chesterfield Bayer Crop Science location with many individuals at different leadership levels. What an amazing yet, intimidating experience that was!

As the summer internship opportunity came to an end, all of us Innovation Center interns traveled to Chesterfield to present our project posters. This was an experience for any individuals within the company to come by and learn about the work we focused on all summer. It was not only a presentation for us but as well as a great way to network within the company. (Pictured below with my poster- as the material is Bayer Confidential unfortunately it is whited out.) Then, July 26^th came, and I said “see ya later” to all the other student interns as they have a break for summer, but I am fortunate enough to extend my work and continue throughout the rest of summer and the 2019-2020 school year. 

Corn, Congress, and Communications

From shadowing a lobbyist in Springfield during Illinois legislative session to advocating for the passage of the United States Mexico Canada trade agreement on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, I have been immersed in the world of agriculture and legislation this summer while serving as the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) legislative intern in Bloomington, Illinois. 

Corn Having grown up on a beef, dairy, and grain farm in Northwestern Illinois, I thought that I was familiar with the corn sector of the agriculture industry. However, there is so much more to corn than planting in the spring and harvesting in the fall. As I have learned, the reaches of the corn sector stretch far beyond the fields. So many products that we use in our daily lives contain corn or corn byproducts. One such byproduct is ethanol. This renewable fuel has helped to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality in large cities, and increased the choices at the pump for the consumer. Not only are farmers feeding the world with their crops, but they are bettering it in other ways too.

Congress Despite the seasonal sessions of the Illinois governing body, the work of IL Corn does not stop when the session concludes. Rather, the work has truly just begun. Many times, preparation is key in the agriculture industry. When preparing to plant in the spring, farmers order their seed and make sure that their equipment is in working order so that when the opportunity to plant arises, they can be out in the field as soon as possible. IL Corn operates in a similar fashion. Upon the conclusion of the spring session, the IL Corn team immediately began working on preparing a plan for the upcoming fall session. Various pieces of legislation that would have serious negative implications on the corn sector needed to be addressed to prevent potential passage in the spring 2020 session.

Communications While I have spent the summer learning about corn and legislation, I have also learned the importance of effective verbal and written communication. Using your voice to tell your story is one of the most powerful ways to enact change. The stories that you share with others help them get to know you. These stories may reveal your values, interests, or passions. When advocating for their legislative priorities on Capitol Hill, farmers shared their stories about the poor planting conditions this past spring. Their stories illustrated the importance of passing legislation that benefits farmers. You will never know the impact that you can have by telling your story unless you are willing to share. 

During my internship search, I knew that I was passionate about agriculture, policy, and communications. Not only have I gotten to combine my passions while serving in this role, but I have been able to practice many of the communications and leadership skills that I have been learning. The skills, knowledge, relationships, and memories that I take away from this internship will continue to impact me and help me grow in the years to come.

Finding Your Confidence

            Having self-confidence is something I believe everyone strives for in one area of their life or another. When I began at Kane County Farm Bureau as the Ag-in-the-Classroom intern, I felt confident in my abilities to do a good job for them and to learn from them. I was even thinking of farm bureau as a possible career after graduation. Needless to say, I had high expectations for the summer I’d get to spend every day doing what I love – educating people about agriculture.

Two weeks into my internship we offered a week-long course for teachers to earn graduate credit for. It consisted of visiting local farms and ag-related businesses…and I was like a little kid in a candy shop. I was learning about families and businesses that were in my own backyard, and I got to learn about the amazing things they’re doing in agriculture. It was even more rewarding to experience the teachers discovering their interest and appreciation for agriculture, as none of them had any experience with it before. That week was full of bringing educators to agriculture, meeting new people, having controversial yet eye-opening discussions, answering questions, and just having fun! After that week, my expectations for the summer skyrocketed even further.

            And then I sat at a desk for 5 weeks. I did small jobs around the office – simple, day-to-day tasks I felt anybody could do. I started doubting myself. Maybe I didn’t do a good job during the institute and they don’t trust me with bigger projects now. Am I putting off a vibe that I don’t want to learn or take on more responsibility? I started believing the questions I was asking myself, and I found myself in a rut of lacking confidence.

And then fair week rolled around. Our pavilion had a bucket raffle, small petting zoo, and an information booth for farm bureau membership. I figured as the intern I’d have to be there all day every day helping out (I was just excited to get away from that desk). Come to find out I was going to be running the whole place all week. I was nervous. At the time I didn’t feel like I had the confidence to be in charge of raffle tickets, cash boxes, FFA volunteers, and discussing our membership classifications with the public. Pretty quickly, though, I realized I was back in my element. I was a resource and a bridge that was able to bring agriculture to the public. I felt more confident in doing what I love than I had all summer.  But I also realized just because there’s nothing to do, doesn’t mean I’m doing something wrong (that’s just the over-thinker in me).  In the end, I was more confident in knowing what I love and how to do it well.

Teaching the Teachers

Extension Unit 25 has a program of federation members that also work as Teen Teachers and teach different educational programs to schools and summer programs in the area. This summer I worked with a group of Teen Teachers and we worked together to teach a grass head program at the Lawrence County Fair. The Lawrence County Extension Program Coordinator, the Teen Teachers, and I had a meeting discussing what, how, and where we wanted to teach this program. We decided that this would be a quick program where children could walk up, make a craft, and learn about simple gardening facts while still keeping the importance of the program understandable and entertaining.

Monday, July, 29, the day of our grass head program. I was in charge of making sure all the supplies were accounted for, preparing the work area for the program, and making sure the Teen Teachers were there and prepare to teach their lesson. I was set up and ready to go 45 minutes ahead of schedule. The grass head program was not supposed to start until 1:30 pm, but local daycare came thirty minutes early, so the Extension Program Coordinator decided we should not keep them waiting. However, Teen Teachers were not prepared for their lesson. They asked me multiple questions throughout the program, which I was prepared for, but I felt like I took over their program. Although I was there to assist them in what they needed, like grab them extra supplies, answer questions they had, and whatever else they needed, but this was their program that I took over.

Creating a plan and watching others teach it a different way than you would have was a challenging task for me. Instead of correcting the teen teachers, because they did a step differently than what I would have done, I should have let them do it their own way. Although the program went differently than I would have done it, we were all praised with a job well done. I apologized to the group of teachers after the program was over, but they were all glad I was there leading them in the right direction. They said the times I interrupted them, helped them out and they used my suggestions to their advantage. Overall, this program was a success with not only providing the Lawrence County 4-H'ers and local daycare members with knowledge about gardening, and a fun craft to see their new grass head friends grow but also a great learning opportunity for the teen teachers and I. They learned to be more prepared for future programs, and I learned that I should be more trusting of others and things will work out in the end.