The Value of Real-World Experience

Summer Internships with Sunrise Cooperative Provide Vital Experience for Students
Written By: Kennedy Brooks, Agronomy & Marketing Intern
 
Fremont, Ohio (June 15, 2020) – Gaining real world experience is an important factor when it comes to finding a job. An internship is a great opportunity to gain experience in the field, learn about yourself, learn about companies you might want to work for, and possibly land a job after graduation. They are a proven way to gain relevant knowledge, skills, and experience while establishing important connections in the field. Internships also are a great way to get your feet wet and find out if a specific field is something you could see yourself doing full-time.
 
Sunrise Cooperative, Inc is a leading agricultural and energy cooperative located in Ohio. They are committed to bringing innovative choices and expert solutions to their customers. Sunrise offers products and services to help you with your day to day operations for your farm, home, or business . Yearly, Sunrise offers a summer internship program. Each intern is assigned a mentor that they will work with. “There is a focus that we make sure they get to spend a week or two in grain a week or two in energy, and we will also do a feed and PCT tour to get a more rounded experience of Sunrise,” said Chris Horning, Assistant SPS Manager, who oversees the internship program. 

This year Sunrise hired 13 Interns that will provide support across all branches. Within the agronomy division, James Fulton and Garrett Langhals are interns at South Charleston. Isaac Goss interns out of Ballville, while Braxton James is based out of the Crestline location, Kori Kile is at Starbuck and CeCelia VonStein at New Washington. Mariah Kiser, Coltin Rose and Elisabeth Williams all intern at the Uniopolis location. Providing support for the energy division is Hunter Phillips at Kettlersville, John DeMarsh at Springfield location and Collin Gibbs at Norwalk. Finally, I serve in a dual role gaining experience in both agronomy and marketing, splitting time between Norwalk and the Fremont Corporate Office.
 
I had the opportunity to talk to George Secor, President/ CEO, about why a student would want to intern at Sunrise Cooperative. “We’ve got feed, energy, grain, agronomy. We’ve got the full factor”. He also said, “If you want the broad spectrum and a look at all those different factors we have to offer in agriculture, Sunrise Cooperative has it”.
 
I was able to catch up with two of the interns about the work they are doing so far and what they like about it. Mariah, intern at our Uniopolis location said, “I am riding along with all the ASA’s to see how they scout fields and tips they can give me to make me scout better.”  Garrett Langhals said, “I’ve learned a good deal about the precision side of farming and how we no longer look at a field of plants, but each plant in the field.”
 
My experience at Sunrise has been great so far. I serve in a dual role gaining experience in both agronomy and marketing, splitting time between Norwalk and the Fremont Corporate Office. I love how I am getting to go out in the field and get some hands-on experience and then come into the office and work with advertising and marketing. I chose to do an internship at Sunrise Cooperative because there is so much to do with my major that I can explore a little bit of everything it has to offer at Sunrise Cooperative.
 
Traditionally, Sunrise begins posting and holds interviews for its internships in the fall. For the latest information on internship opportunities be sure to visit the Sunrise website at www.sunriseco-op.com/careers.