By Dylan Davidson, AAEA Marketing Intern
My AAEA internship at U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) was an amazing experience and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to complete it in person during the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone at USW and AAEA went out of their way to make sure that I felt safe in and outside of the office. I cannot express how thankful I am to everyone at USW and AAEA for making my internship such a great experience.
I spent my internship in Arlington, VA with the USW communications team learning firsthand about communication efforts in the agriculture industry with foreign customers and helping USW with their new video production goals. I got the chance to meet with many of USW’s foreign staff and customers to discuss and learn the importance the United States wheat industry plays in over 100 countries around the world.
My two biggest projects at USW was the chance to work on my writing skills and to teach the communications team about video production. I had the opportunity to write news releases, feature stories, state spotlights and assist the communications team in editing several other projects as well as hold weekly video training sessions and help USW begin a new video series.
On top of communications work, I also had the opportunity to work with USW’s policy team on a variety of farm policy projects.
To complete an internship during the pandemic, especially right next to Washington, D.C., was a unique experience. At first, I was reluctant to travel there and thought about completing the internship remotely from Texas. Thankfully, USW encouraged me to complete the internship in person and made every effort to make sure I was safe and healthy during my time there.
I got to experience firsthand how communication efforts look during a pandemic and help USW developed new ideas and strategies on how to communicate to their customers and bring value to U.S. wheat farmers.
USW gave me every opportunity to learn new skills and to build on my current ones. I’m glad to say that they have also given me the chance to continue to work for them remotely while I attend Texas Tech University and work towards my master’s degree.