Throwback Thursday, Intern Edition

Earlier this year cattleman Stan Pelton told me how his dad wanted him to “go work for somebody else first,” before coming home to the family ranch. He joked about getting his master’s degree during the two years he worked at a feedlot.

Those are some of the same reasons that many animal science, ag business and ag communications programs require an internship as part of earning those degrees.

We’ve had some great ones at Certified Angus Beef, and started to wonder, “Where are they now?” And thus a new series was born: Throwback Thursday, Intern Edition.

Some were easier to find than others…

Remember Emily Krueger?

It was three years ago this November, and talk about a happy coincidence for both Emily Krueger and myself: My husband and Emily wound up at the same table at the Ag Future of America conference. They were talking career goals when she mentioned that she’d love to work for Certified Angus Beef. Mark said, “You have to meet my wife!”

She did and long story short, she won in the competition to be our spring 2012 intern.

“I always thought ultimately I would love for my career to land at CAB,” she says. Makes sense; as an Ohio farm girl and buckeye, the Wooster, Ohio, office was practically in her back yard. “But I’m still amazed at how quickly that happened.”

After paying us a hefty finders fee (or at least a shout out in a company-wide e-mail) our HR department also found Emily was the perfect fit for a summer marketing internship. And, after completing those two stints with the company, we knew she was a keeper.

So that’s what we did: keep her! Today she’s a marketing and public relations specialist for the brand.

Although Emily grew up in the ag industry, she admits to a learning curve when it came to inside jargon and intricacies of different segments. We both had a good laugh swapping stories about what terms we Googled when we were fresh on the job.

But Emily not only learned that a stocker operator and a backgrounder are the same thing, she also got to put her ag communications degree into practice in real-world experiences.

“I learned how to be a lot more concise, a lot more direct and always think about who I’m talking to,” Emily says.

Her favorite assignment?

Traveling to McConnelsville, Ohio, to learn more about Steve Roberts, registered Angus breeder and co-owner of Chatterbox Tavern

“I got to spend almost a whole day with him and then to be able to share his story was an honor, really,” she says.“I enjoyed how committed he was and how busy, but yet how strategic he was on his farm and his business and wanted quality on both ends.”

If you haven’t noticed, we’ve got a thing for quality. That matters in our employees, too, whether it’s on our Black ink team or working on the consumer side.

I’m just jumping back into the swing of things after maternity leave and not traveling much yet, so the chance of a potential intern’s path crossing mine is pretty slim. But maybe you’re reading this with somebody in mind. If so, make a virtual introduction. Send ‘em to our website. Just be sure to mention this. It could change a career path.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,
Miranda

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