Five students from the College of Agricultural Leadership and Natural Resources had the opportunity to learn by hands-on experience through the prestigious Herbert Scholars program.
Students in the program received financial aid for internships this past summer in order to get experiential learning in their future career field.
Mae Allen, junior in animal science with a concentration in animal industries and a minor in business administration, worked with Tractor Supply Company (TSC) in Nashville this summer as an Omni-Channel intern at the store support center.
The Omni-Channel department, Allen explained, is responsible for the e-commerce section of the business.
“My main project this summer is working with customer feedback and analyzing it to help optimize the customer experience,” Allen said. “I have also had the opportunity to sit in on various meetings in which new features and planning for the website are discussed.”
Allen was also able to attend classes within the company and meet executives of TSC.
Cassidy Giles, senior in plant sciences with a concentration in landscape design and minor in business administration, interned with Carolina Landscapes in Charleston, South Carolina.
In her internship, Giles’ tasks included taking inventories of plants and their locations in the landscape.
While Giles had an internship at a greenhouse the previous summer, her internship with Carolina Landscapes gave her a better idea of what she would be doing in her future career.
“I was one-on-one with plants, but I didn’t really get to design things,” Giles said about her previous internship. “This summer is really important. It’s nice to actually put into practice everything I’ve learned from my courses and really just learn the whole process of meeting with clients, figuring out everything you need to see on-site so you know how your design will affect everything there.”
Senior in plant sciences with a concentration in turfgrass science and management with a minor in business Rhys Fielder had the opportunity to go to New York for his internship.
“New York City Football Club gave me the opportunity to get my feet wet in sports turf,” Fielder said. “I’m really just trying to get my foot in the door, get connections, figure out what the day-to-day life is, see if I like sports turf if its something I would like to stick with.”
Allen, Giles and Fielder hope that by sharing their experiences with others after their internship is done, they inspire others about the learning experience of internships.
“It’s neat to me that I was able to have this opportunity to not have to worry about finances and to be able to go back and share this with other people and tell them about this opportunity it provided me with,” Fielder said. “ [Interning] is being a part of something bigger than yourself.”
Giles emphasized the financial advantage of the program, believing others should reach for internships out of their comfort zones.
“I think that in general everyone should do one internship even if it is out-of-state since it is a great learning experience to be away from everything you’re used to. I’ve definitely learned a lot being down here on my own,” Giles said. “I’m very grateful that someone is generous enough to help pay for students to do things like this.”
Along with Allen, Giles and Fielder, the Herbert Scholars include senior in biosystems engineering Benjamin Cruz and senior in plant sciences with a biotechnology concentration and minor in environmental and soil science Robert Sears.
