Welcome, 2023 Co-Alliance Specialized Interns
The 2023 Co-Alliance summer interns have arrived. These specialized interns will be working on behalf of our business divisions. We are so excited to welcome them to the team this summer.
Parker Hacker, Agronomy Intern
"Co-Alliance is leading with people and technology, growing profitability, giving back locally and remembering we are a cooperative."
What drew you to intern for Co-Alliance? What drew me to intern with Co-Alliance is the quality work the company has done in my community and the surrounding area. While still maintaining the values the company started with as the company has grown and adapted to the rapidly changing environment in agriculture.
What are you doing in your specific role? My specific role here at the Stilesville plant in the agronomy division is to assist in monitoring app notifications and reports to growers in Taranis and IntelinAir paired with our scouting tool. My goals are to ensure the overall success of both apps and assist in accurate utilization for both plant operations and at the farm gate.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? My other projects include monitoring new products being used in the field such FirstStepp and various herbicides and biologicals while managing Taranis and Intelinair throughout the summer to find what program works best for the Stilesville plant and the farmer.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? I'm looking forward to learning more about the advanced mapping systems and programs Co-Alliance uses to propel themselves in the agricultural industry. While gaining knowledge about crop protection and nutrient management.
Josh Havron, Agronomy Intern
"Co-Alliance is an amazing place to work. The people and the work environment make it a very inviting place to be."
What drew you to Co-Alliance? I was drawn to be an intern at Co-Alliance because I had heard from others around me of how good the work environment is and how great the people that work there are. With this being my fourth year working for Co-Alliance, I can say that the people are the reason that this company is so great and fun to work for.
What are you doing in your specific role? Within my specific role as a specialized agronomy intern, I have already had the pleasure to work with the sales team on a few new products that our branch wanted to test out and see how they work across our local soil types. By doing this, I have also spent time talking with growers and chemical company sales representatives as we have spent time walking fields looking at the progress.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? I have two main projects that I am working on this summer, with the first being the Co-Alliance exclusive First-Stepp. This is a talc-graphite product that also has a micro nutrient package and a biological package within it. This talc-graphite product is applied to the seed as it is a lube for the planter meters as the seed is ran through the planter. My second project that I am working on is with the product, Instinct, which is a nitrogen stabilizer that we are putting in with liquid loads of sidedress fertilizer. Throughout the season we will be taking soil samples and tissue samples to get a set of data that we can then compare to yield data at harvest time.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? I think that the project that I am looking forward to the most is the First-Stepp trials. With this product being a Co-Alliance exclusive and a brand-new product, I am very excited to see how it compares within different crops and if it helps the crops.
Bryant Perkins, Swine Intern
"Co-Alliance is opportunity; opportunity to build not only personally but professionally. The opportunities are endless if you make them."
What drew you to intern for Co-Alliance? I feel the biggest attraction for myself that drove me to apply for the Swine and Animal Nutrition was to get back into a field that I thoroughly enjoy. My passion for livestock is true, and being able to work with growers daily with some of the industry’s most driven individuals pushes me to work harder and makes us work well together.
What are you doing in your specific role? A few of the main things that I am working on currently in my specific role as an intern in the Swine and Animal Nutrition division here at Co-Alliance is focusing on animal health and building relationships with growers.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? A project that I am currently working on is a cut strategy with hogs that are market size and ready to go to the packer. From a marketing standpoint there is money that can be saved by taking a certain percentage of hogs out of the barn at a time when the majority are ready and at prime market weight. It is finding that percentage, time, and availability (happy medium) that will give me the information I need.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? I feel the most important thing that I am looking forward to within this summer internship is being able to build relationships with growers and gain as much knowledge as I can about production swine. I feel that so far this internship has taught me a lot, not only about production swine but careers after I graduate. From my first day riding along with Tyler I knew that I was going to have a fun summer.
Travis Boeskool, Swine Intern
"Co-Alliance is working towards building up the next generation of workers to maximize pork production."
What drew you to intern for Co-Alliance? I was drawn to Intern with Co-Alliance because unlike the other companies I interviewed with, Co-Alliance, even though a very large company, had a smaller home feel where I felt like my opinion is valued and they want me to help them as much as they want to help me vs the bigger companies where you are a smaller piece in their big plan.
What are you doing in your specific role? In my role as a swine and nutrition intern, I am utilized as an extension of the swine supervisors to help them with anything they may need, going through barns, helping start pigs, white washing barns etc.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? This summer I will be working on creating an SOP for prefill inspection before pigs come in to determine if we can surpass previous close out records of the barns in my tests.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? The thing I am looking forward to most this summer is working with the talented team at the Reynolds location and growing in my management abilities and decision making.
Lane Dungan, Grain Intern
"Co-Alliance is a great way for me to get out in the grain world and have great company to learn from."
What drew you to intern for Co-Alliance? I was drawn to Co-Alliance because of the friendliness I had with people from Co-Alliance before joining and knew I would get to see exactly what I wanted to do.
What are you doing in your specific role? I have been following Tom Blackwell and getting a chance to see what grain merchandising looks like and how grain is traded from a company and elevator standpoint. I have been able to help the grain division get more involved in connect.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? My main projects this summer are getting grain working more on Co-Alliance connect and revamping old spreadsheets.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? I am looking forward to getting to see trades happen and figuring out more about market analysis.
Abigail Hughes, Marketing Intern
"Co-Alliance is the future of agriculture."
What drew you to intern for Co-Alliance? Co-Alliance has always been a familiar brand in my hometown, so when it came to the Purdue career fair, I noticed that Co-Alliance stands out from the crowd of employers. After that, I read their company values on the website and knew I wanted to be a part of a company like that.
What are you doing in your specific role? I work in the marketing department, where my day-to-day is spent either at headquarters or getting my boots in the field. I collect pictures and video content, which will then be used on our social media platforms. Through my video and picture content, I help capture the stories of Co-Alliance team members and farmer-owners.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? Throughout this summer I am responsible for digital marketing and event planning. The focus of my internship is to deliver marketing content for social media channels, websites, branding graphics, and other digital places that can be utilized throughout the year. Additionally, I manage and plan various events across all Co-Alliance divisions.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? This summer I look forward to growing my social network and meeting new people every day!
Ashlynn Oliger, Marketing Intern
"Co-Alliance is giving back and supporting the local farmer."
What drew you to intern for Co-Alliance? I was initially drawn to Co-Alliance because I wanted an opportunity to work for a cooperative company. I love the fact that Co-Alliance is farmer-owned and operated. I also believe strongly in giving back, and that is a large part of Co-Alliance's mission to give back locally. I wanted to be a part of giving back to the people and communities in our trade territories.
What are you doing in your specific role? I am working as a community involvement and outreach marketing intern this summer. This summer I will be working on giving back to the communities in our trade territory through county fair sponsorships, and donations to local food banks, churches, fire departments, etc.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? The main projects I will be working on this summer are working on getting Co-Alliance to sponsor as many 4-H Swine shows in our trade territory. Then traveling around documenting the experience. I will be tracking the donations that Co-Alliance makes throughout the summer and calculating total spending dollars based on counties.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? This summer I am looking forward to learning from all my amazing co-workers and all the opportunities that Co-Alliance has to offer as a company.
Margaret Roth, Accounting Intern
"Co-Alliance is personable. Ever since I interviewed at the corporate office, everyone has been so purposeful with their actions. After interning here for just a few weeks, I can plainly see this attitude displayed in every aspect of Co-Alliance."
What drew you to Co-Alliance? I was drawn Co-Alliance by a happy chance. My good friend referred me to the Accounting Internship even though I had no idea what Co-Alliance was, and I am so glad she did. After looking into the company further, I knew it would be a good fit!
What are you doing in your specific role? In my role as Accounting Intern, I help anyone in the accounting department who needs a hand with projects. So far, I have helped update quite a few systems’ data, entered inventory information, added, and updated fixed assets, closed out some unnecessary accounts, and soon I will be on an even bigger project!
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? Throughout this summer, I will work on a lease accounting project and anything else that needs to be done.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? I am most looking forward to gaining an in-depth experience of what it is like to practice accounting in the real world, especially in a cooperative.
Caroline Houck, Safety Intern
"Co-Alliance is a company where you matter. A company who you will be introduced to, and your name will be remembered. Where hands on experiences and lessons learned matter."
What drew you to intern for Co-Alliance? Co-Alliance was a company that I saw as always willing to lend a hand and support students and organizations. This involvement drove me to apply to the "safety internship". From my first interview I knew it would be a comfortable, collaborative, innovative place to work, and a place where I wanted to intern.
What are you doing in your specific role? My specific role for the summer of 2023 is the safety intern. I am the only specialized intern in this position. In this role, I assist with co-op inspections, grain bin harness inspections, and any accidents or spills that may happen with the trucks on the road when transporting. I am in the corporate Indianapolis office three times a week and in the field the two other days.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? The first is creating 100 safety and environmental compliance binders full of 18 policies for all Co-Alliance locations. These binders had to be recreated due to Co-Alliance and Harvest Land coming together. The second project is going through employees who are service or bobtail drivers who deal with propane. Through the website "PERC" I am creating a massive spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is full of Co-Alliance's current employees and categorizing to ensure they have all the required skill assessments to be certified to drive. If they do not, I assign them tasks to be completed.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? The thing that I am looking forward to most as someone who came from a non-agricultural background is to experience hands on work and learn things that I can then apply back to school when I head back to Purdue in the fall. There are so many intricate parts of Co-Alliance, and everyone involved in the company has a role and I have always felt welcomed both in the office and in the field.
AJ Webb, IT Intern
"Co-Alliance is a place that cares about its customers, employees, and interns equally."
What drew you to intern for Co-Alliance? The people who interviewed me seemed nice, and I saw Co-Alliance at career fairs at Purdue.
What are you doing in your specific role? My role varies every day, but currently I am finding out which devices do not have our monitoring software installed.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? I do not necessarily have an overarching project this summer, but I am working on several different projects that could take all summer. One example of a task taking a while is testing all the internet speeds at each branch location.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? I am most looking forward to gaining experience working in the IT field. I have already learned a lot!
Alex Cecil, Ag Tech
"Co-Alliance is using technology to promote success in the field."
What drew you to intern for Co-Alliance? The experience at Co-Alliance for Ag Technology and opportunity for development with the projects I will be working on.
What are you doing in your specific role? I am an Agriculture Technology intern, we are working with a robotic sprayer on test plots, will be flying a sprayer drone.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? The main projects I will be working on will be the different types of spray application and the application of field robotics.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? Working with new people and on complex projects are the things I am looking forward to the most.
Eion Stephens, Ag Tech
"Co-Alliance is groundbreaking with agriculture technology."
What drew you to intern for Co-Alliance? Between graduating high school and starting college, I took a gap year to serve as an Indiana FFA State Officer. During this time Co-Alliance, being a huge supporter of FFA, gave my team a tour of one of their branches. On this tour we learned so much about the cooperative system and everyone was so inviting and friendly. Ever since then, I have had several interactions with different branches and every time it feels the same. The people are welcoming and helpful. I have had several friends intern with Co-Alliance and all of them had a great experience. Last summer the internship was everything I expected and more. So, this year I took a different role so I could see other parts of the company.
What are you doing in your specific role? As an agriculture technology intern, my role revolves around several of the technological advancements that Co-Alliance is investing in.
What are the main projects you will be working on throughout the summer? One of my projects is working with a ground rig spraying robot with see-and-spray technology. Another project I will be working on is flying a spray drone.
What are you looking forward to the most during your summer internship? Getting to work alongside great coworkers to increase efficiencies for growers.
To Learn More about Co-Alliance Internship Opportunities click here.