2022 Intern Introductions

Our summer interns have hit the ground running and this week on the blog we’re so excited to introduce each of them to you! This group of college students will spend their summer with us, doing specialized work on behalf of our business divisions. We’re excited to see where this experience takes them and the many ways they stretch and grow during the summer of 2022. Parker Sullivan

• Hometown? Greentown, IN
• Where do you go to school? Purdue University
• What are you studying? AgriBusiness
• Year in school? Senior
• Title of Internship? Seed and Agronomy Intern 
• What projects are you looking forward to working on this summer? Helping customers understand the Nitrogen Model, as well as Co-Alliance Connect customer enrollment 
• Future career plans or goals?  Seed Sales 
• Why did you want to be a Co-Alliance intern? Co-Alliance has always had a strong relationship with my community and being able to work so close to home made this the perfect opportunity for me to learn and understand retail ag.
• Other information you would like to share? This is my 2nd year as an Intern with Co-Alliance. 

Mallory Liles

• Hometown? Wapakoneta, OH
• Where do you go to school? The Ohio State University
• What are you studying? Agricultural Communications
• Year in school? Junior
• Title of Internship? Swine & Animal Nutrition Intern
• What projects are you looking forward to working on this summer? I am most looking forward to my project surrounding grower engagement and feedback that will allow the company to increase grower satisfaction.
• Future career plans or goals?  I hope to do some type of communications work involving animal agriculture. 
• Why did you want to be a Co-Alliance intern? I wanted to intern with Co-Alliance to experience the production side of animal agriculture, as it became one of my strongest interests throughout my first couple years of school. I hope to use the knowledge I gain to better communicate the industry in the future. 

  Makala Hammons

• Hometown? Rushville, IN
• Where do you go to school? Purdue University
• What are you studying? Agronomic Business and Marketing
• Year in school? Senior!!
• Title of Internship?  Region 5 Student Coordinator
• What projects are you looking forward to working on this summer? I will be working with YieldPro on several projects this summer. The most exciting projects include Intelinair satellite scouting and VRT map creation, where I hope to learn more about data analysis and new ag tech. 
• Future career plans or goals?  My plans for a future career include working with a retail ag company that puts grower needs first. I want to help growers maximize yield while maintaining economic and resource sustainability. A top goal of mine includes working in YieldPro for Co-Alliance.
• Why did you want to be a Co-Alliance intern? I wanted to intern with Co-Alliance this summer because of the wonderful experiences I had the past two summers as a Field Scout. When the opportunity to intern as a Student Coordinator came about, I didn't have to think twice about it. These internship positions allow for classroom knowledge application, field experience, and valuable professional networking!

  Luke Brewer

• Hometown: Fairmount, Indiana
• Where do you go to school?: Ball State University
• What are you studying?: My major is in Biology with a concentration in Genetics and my minor is in Chemistry. 
• Year in school?: I will be a Junior this Fall Semester.
• Title of Internship?: AG Tech Intern 
• What projects are you looking forward to working on this summer?: This year as an Ag Tech Intern, I'll be managing the drone program and coordinating efforts along with the other drone scouts. I'm excited to apply what I learned last year in the Drone Program to this year's program. I'll also be working in the test plot at the Tipton County Fairgrounds and utilizing the newest addition to the drone program, the T-30 sprayer drone. I especially look forward to flying the T-30 and learning more about unmanned aerial application using this cutting-edge technology. 
• Future career plans or goals?: Once I finish my undergraduate degree, I plan on getting a Master's Degree in Plant Genetics. I haven't decided on a university, yet. My career goal is to develop new corn and soybean hybrids and while having the ability to involve myself in the trial process. I think experience in the T-30 drone technology is a great opportunity to further my goal and explore technologies that may be widely used in the future.
• Why did you want to be a Co-Alliance intern? I wanted to be an intern at Co-Alliance because I knew that it would provide me with valuable experience in leadership, the opportunity to make connections, and the ability to learn more about agriculture technologies. 

  Eion Stephens

• Hometown? Dale, Indiana
• Where do you go to school? Purdue University
• What are you studying? Agriculture Systems Management and Agriculture Economics and a minor in Communications
• Year in school? Junior
• Title of Internship?  Region 3 Field Scout Coordinator
• What projects are you looking forward to working on this summer? This summer I am looking forward to working with the field scouts in my region to enhance our agronomy knowledge as well as grow professionally.
• Why did you want to be a Co-Alliance intern? I decided to intern with Co-Alliance because a few years ago I had the opportunity to visit one of the branches and everyone I interacted with was friendly and they all seemed to enjoy their jobs. After being in my role for several weeks now, it is clear this environment is true for the whole company. I couldn’t be happier with my experience so far as I have had so many opportunities to learn and experience new things.

Dylan Peed

• Hometown? Farmland, IN
• Where do you go to school? Purdue University
• What are you studying?  agribusiness (marketing concentration) with a minor in agronomy (crop sciences) and an entrepreneurship certificate.
• Year in school? Senior
• Title of Internship?  This will be my third year here at Co-Alliance, but this year I have a different role, I am the region 6 student coordinator instead of a field scout.
• What projects are you looking forward to working on this summer? This year I am able to sit down and work on some pretty cool projects, including Intelinair (a satellite and plane scouting program).
• Future career plans or goals?: My future career plans would have to be to work for Co-Alliance and work on the family farm on the side.
• Why did you want to be a Co-Alliance intern? I picked this internship because my first two summers with Co-Alliance were great and I learned so much, that with this new role I can teach and help the new field scouts for this year. Co-Alliance has been good to me, and I have gained so much knowledge that I can use the rest of my career in the agricultural field. They have many opportunities in the company for different career paths, from an office job to an applicator, from an agronomist to a truck driver, the opportunities are out there for anyone.

  Cassidy Colbert

• Hometown? Tipton County
• Where do you go to school?  I go to school at Purdue University
• What are you studying? I am majoring in Ag business and minoring in event and meeting management
• Year in school? I am going to be a Junior
• Title of Internship?  I am working for Co-Alliance as an Ag tech intern
• What projects are you looking forward to working on this summer? This summer I will be focusing on the Tipton fairgrounds plot. I have helped plant both corn and soybeans so far.
• Future career plans or goals?  I am unsure what exactly I want to do once I graduate.
• Why did you want to be a Co-Alliance intern? I enjoyed everything I learned last summer from working with Co-Alliance and wanted to learn more about the company.

  Jessie Fraley

• Hometown? Martinsville, Indiana
• Where do you go to school?  Ball State University
• What are you studying My major at BSU is Advertising with a concentration in Event Planning and Hospitality Management. I will also receive a minor in Entrepreneurial Management.
• Year in school? Senior
• Title of Internship?  I am the Marketing & Events Intern
• What projects are you looking forward to working on this summer?  I am absolutely honored and thrilled to be a part of the Co-Alliance team and family this summer. I am very much looking forward to working the Fueling Freedom event on June 24th along with all of the other amazing events this summer.
• Why did you want to be a Co-Alliance intern?  I wanted to be a Co-Alliance intern because I wanted to step into the corporate world yet with a company who cares so deeply about its clients and employees. I want to learn more about all that it this company entails and how it uses its resources and energy to better the lives of Americans.
• Other information you would like to share? During my time at Ball State, I have worked super hard at being a student/athlete. I currently have a 3.97 GPA while being a NCAA Division I member of the women’s varsity swim team and MAC Conference scoring team. Also, I have only heard amazing things about Co-Alliance and I wanted to check it out myself. I was in 4-H and showed farm animals so I thought that this job would very much interest me. I also have had lots of experience with event planning as I worked in the non-for-profit sector with Discover Downtown Franklin last summer and have and still am working for The Overlook event venue with such events as weddings and small celebrations.
• I absolutely love the time that I have already spent with Co-Alliance and my team. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to work with. I am looking forward to furthering this experience throughout the summer.

 

Jackson Shake

• Hometown? Sullivan, Indiana
• Where do you go to school? Purdue University
• What are you studying? Studying agribusiness
• Year in school? Junior
• Title of Internship? Agronomy Operations
• What projects are you looking forward to working on this summer?  I’m looking forward to meeting other farmers around a community other than my hometown.
• Future career plans or goals?  I want to be a successful seed salesman in my hometown.
• Why did you want to be a Co-Alliance intern? I wanted to meet new people in this industry and see how Co-Alliance runs things.

  Joshua Havron 

• Hometown? Rochester, Indiana 
• Where do you go to school? Purdue University
• What are you studying? I am majoring in agronomy
• Year in school? I just finished my freshman year and will be return in the fall for my sophomore year
• Title of Internship? Operation overview
• What projects are you looking forward to working on this summer? This summer I am looking forward to working on projects based around the importance of chemical mixing and the safety behind it. I am also looking forward to working on projects based around preventative maintenance and keeping the branch up and running. 
• Future career plans or goals? My future plans and goals are to hopefully find a long term position within a co-op or seed company as either a sales person or a custom applicator.
• Why did you want to be a Co-Alliance intern? This summer will be my third summer as an intern for Co-Alliance and every year has shown me a different part of the ag retail side of farming. Co-Alliance is a great place to work as the company is inviting and the people are friendly and will help teach you more and more about what we do as a co-op.
• Other information you would like to share? I grew up on a small farm just outside of Rochester, Indiana and working with Co-Alliance has helped me gain so much more knowledge on agriculture as a whole and everything that has to go into it to produce a great crop.