Customer Support Internship Provides Valuable Experience
Each year, Ag Leader’s customer support department hires interns with the goal of providing students an opportunity to gain experience in precision agriculture. These interns also provide an important contribution to Ag Leader by helping the support department better serve our customers. The current group of technical support interns started in January of this year.
They began gaining experience on the phone in mid-February and were then able to provide a boost to tech support going into our busy season in the spring. In addition to phone support, the interns also have the chance to travel, as all of them will get the opportunity to attend at least one customer training. The internship will last until August when they will return to school. Many past interns have continued to work part-time at Ag Leader once the internship is complete. I asked our three current interns to tell us a little bit about themselves and to share some thoughts about their internship experience so far.
Sam Schmidt During his internship, Sam has assisted with customer training sessions in Indiana this spring and will primarily provide phone support through the summer. Sam is originally from Delmar, IA where he grew up on a 300-acre row crop and 100-head Angus cow/calf farming operation. He is currently a senior at Iowa State majoring in Agricultural Systems Technology. When I asked Sam about his internship experience, he said, “I have gained an immense amount of precision agriculture knowledge since January, since I came from a farm that never implemented any GPS into the operation.
The biggest skill that I have developed since starting at Ag Leader is my confidence on the phone while conversing with customers. This internship has not only broadened my knowledge base in agriculture, but has also taught me how to interact with people with all levels of experience. I have enjoyed developing the communication skills to guide customers to the desired solution to their problem.”
Kaleb Lindquist Kaleb is currently entering his senior year at Iowa State University, where he is majoring in Agronomy with an emphasis in Ag Business and Ag Systems Technology. Kaleb grew up near Albert City, IA where his family runs a diversified farming operation. They grow corn and soybeans, raise hogs and operate a cow-calf operation. In Kaleb’s free time, he enjoys hunting, camping and helping out on the farm whenever he has a chance.
In regards to his Ag Leader internship, Kaleb said, “The past few months with Ag Leader has proven to be a phenomenal learning experience and a great way to get involved with precision agriculture; I would highly recommend the internship to anyone.”
Curtis Morrical Curtis is a junior at Iowa State University majoring in Agricultural Systems Technology. He grew up in a small town in southwest Iowa. Curtis enjoyed playing sports in high school, including football, basketball, track and baseball.
In his free time he enjoys being outdoors, playing sports and hunting. Back home, his family runs a small hog and cattle operation. Curtis had this to say about his internship: “My experience here at Ag Leader has been exceptional. I knew going into this internship that I was going to learn a lot about precision agriculture, but in the past few months I have learned more than I ever thought I would. I have had a great time while working here and hope to continue to work here part-time after this internship is completed. “