College students get real world experience at Farm Credit offices
How do you get a job without experience? And how do you get experience without a job? Sixteen interns who are working for Farm Credit Services of Mid-America this summer are solving this problem by taking advantage of the opportunity to work and learn in a real work environment with mentors and professionals who work in their respective fields of study. The opportunity is a major step in preparing college students to enter the world of life after college.
Katie Gibson is one of the group of 16 interns and is working out of the Huntingburg, IN office this summer. Katie will be a senior this fall at Murray State University. She is majoring in Agribusiness with an emphasis in Marketing and Management.
According to Tim Baker, recruitment specialist for Farm Credit, the internship allows college students to practically apply the skills they are learning in college. “They are getting first hand look at what a lending officer does for Farm Credit and can apply what they’ve learned in a real-life situation,” he said.
As interns, the nineteen students are assigned mentors who guide them through the components of the lending business and helped with their career objectives. Gibson is participating in many aspects of the lending business, attending sales meetings, and completing specialized projects. During her internship she will be working to identify potential customers and develop a marketing plan to reach the target audience. She will also be assisting in multiple office events.
Interns also attend an Intern Retreat where the group participates together in team building exercises and has time to interact and get to know one another. Retreat will take place in Indiana this year one of the four states served by Farm Credit Services of Mid-America. This includes Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.
While in Indiana interns will tour several large agribusinesses cooperation’s to learn about the diverse agriculture operations that Farm Credit services. This year we will be touring Beck’s Hybrids and independent, family owned seed company that is has been producing dependable seed since 1937, along with Horizon Wind Energy that is based out of Houston, TX this wind farm is just one of the 27 they operate across North America, and the Reynolds, IN Bio-Town Program, whose long-term goal is to completely meet the needs of Reynolds, IN with biorenewable resources.
“Certainly job experience is one benefit of Farm Credit’s college intern program,” said Luke Kelly, Financial Services Officer with Farm Credit Services who is mentoring Gibson. “But the interns also get the added benefit of interesting research projects, cross-training, and many networking opportunities with other interns through Farm Credit’s four state area.”
The opportunity to network and have a better understanding of what people do in the field of finance were motivating factors for this set of interns. And like many Farm Credit interns before, the experience may help them decide to enter the world of agricultural finance after they complete college.
