Oakley Whalen

Oakley Whalen, agricultural leadership education graduate, interned at Cargill in New Orleans. Whalen learned an extensive amount about teamwork, communication, and building relationships during her internship at Cargill. She learned the value of building trust and relationships, and if you are able to build those foundations, working together for a common goal is much easier. This internship solidified her passion for human resources.

Oakley’s advice to students is “There really is something out there for everyone. Find something you’re good at and capitalize on it, because the world needs your talents, and you deserve to be happy and do something you’re passionate about.”

Kolten Postin

Kolten Postin, agricultural and consumer economics graduate, knows how important it is to make connections with professors.

Postin is a market research and consulting intern at John Deere Innovation Technology Center in Research Park. In this position, he maps dairy operations and develops a cost of production analysis for milk. He conducts both primary and secondary research to gather information.

“If you are interested in an opportunity like mine, let your professors know,” Postin says. “In my situation, John Deere contacted my professor asking him for prospective students.”

This internship allowed Postin to learn more about the dairy industry. He has also learned the objectives and processes that companies go through when conducting market research.

“This position has opened up additional career opportunities and has opened my interest in feed ingredient segment in agriculture,” Postin says. “I feel extremely fortunate to have gotten this excellent opportunity!”

Hayden Schaumburg

Hayden Schaumburg, farm management, is interning at Granular as a data specialist. His responsibilities include entering massive amounts of data that farmers use to make educated decisions for their farm operations. Hayden gives his Granular team and internship credit for solidifying his goal “to work in the agricultural sector contributing directly to producers.” 

He says, “At a young age, I painted a picture in my mind of attending the university and working in agriculture. It is my belief that when you find something you are truly passionate about there is nothing that can keep you from it.”

Find out more about Hayden Schaumburg's story here.

Julianna Ge 

Julianna Ge, human development and family studies/industrial engineering, is also a James Scholar in the College of ACES.

Ge worked for the Pearson Student Advisory Board, a small group of scholars who were selected to serve as advisors to the Pearson leadership team and executives. This position gave her the opportunity to edit and create written or pictorial works for Pearson. 

“Given my passion for engineering, people, and education, I thought serving on the Pearson Student Advisory Board would allow me to bypass prosaic intern work and do some tangible good in a relatively short period of time,” Ge says.

The experience has given her excellent insight into the current state of education from a business and personal perspective. 

The James Scholar program gave her the opportunity to be the co-president of the James Scholar Advisory & Leadership Team. 

“Being a part of the James Scholar program helped me form close friendships with many intelligent students, staff, and faculty, which then helped connect me to the resources I needed to succeed.”

Erin Kettelkamp

Erin Kettelkamp, animal sciences with a pre-vet concentration, took advantage of a job shadow opportunity at Nestlé Purina PetCare’s corporate headquarters in St. Louis.

During the job shadow, Kettelkamp had the opportunity to meet with representatives in various departments, human resources representatives, and scientists. She also got to tour the processing plant and have hands-on experience with their quality assurance tests. The participants were encouraged to ask questions throughout the day.

“Every employee was so warm and welcoming it really gave me the opportunity to get the most out of that day,” Kettelkamp says.

Before this job shadow experience, Kettelkamp was curious about the nutrition industry about veterinary medicine. Because of her experience, she is planning to take more nutrition classes.

“If you are not sure about your career path, or are curious about a certain industry, a job shadow is a great way to get your feet wet,” Kettelkamp advised. “They allow you to network with professionals and get an inside look without necessarily committing to a job or internship position.”

Nick Tarleton

Nick Tarleton, food science and human nutrition, did a job shadow at Newly Wed Foods in Chicago. Newly Wed Foods is a smaller food corporation that is a premier global purveyor of customized bread, batters, seasonings, and functional ingredients. During the job shadow, Tarleton got to see many departments in the company including sales and marketing, research and development, quality assurance, regulatory, production, and sensory departments. 

“My favorite department during the job shadow was research and development where I had the opportunity to play around with the ratio of spices that add flavor to cooked potato chips,” Tarleton says.

Tarleton also had the opportunity to network during the job shadow. He found that industry professionals were interested in getting to know him. They asked him to keep in touch and offered their assistance if he needed it.

“Job shadows have helped me better understand what I am learning in the classroom,” Tarleton says. “Take advantage of opportunities pertaining to job shadows and internships, maintain an updated I-Link and LinkedIn profile, make valuable and true connections with industry professionals, and keep in touch with the industry professionals you meet. It makes a huge difference.”