The AAEA internship is definitely a unique experience. From planning speaker panels for global agricultural companies at Padilla to crafting centerpieces at Ag Media Summit, amazingly unique is the best way I can describe it. Getting to work for not one, but two great teams of people was exactly what I needed this summer.
Looking back, I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I want in a career from moving from Columbia, Missouri, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and jumping into a large agency filled with such talented folks.
After watching my coworkers, supervisor and senior leadership handle company transitions and ethical issues with grace, I understand what questions to ask my future employer to make sure I’m in the right place and my values match theirs. As I’m sure you’ve heard, values and company culture are increasingly popular with my generation when picking a workplace, and for me that’s no different.
My favorite project I’ve worked on has been a summer-long internship project to assess our department’s award entries, figure out how we can win more awards and develop ways to showcase those wins both internally and externally. Through this, I’ve gotten to look through amazing campaigns, learn the ins and outs of many national awards programs and pitch my ideas to our ag department as well as our marketing team.
I can’t thank AAEA enough for offering me this opportunity to grow in my passion for agricultural communications and make so many career connections at Ag Media Summit.
To any young people out there struggling with whether they should take that big opportunity, move a couple hundred miles away and try something new – do it. It might be scary at first, but you’ll thank me later.