Jeremy Joseph Garst is a junior from Thorntown, Indiana studying Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering. On campus, Jeremy is involved with Purdue Student Government, Purdue Catholic students as well as Boilermakers For Life, and was chosen for the College of Agriculture's Dean's Scholars program. Jeremy had the opportunity to work for the energy and agribusiness company, Co-Alliance as a field scout intern this past summer. He proves that striking a simple conversation can lead to so much more.
What attracted you to the company/position?
I recognized the Co-Alliance recruiter as a family friend at the Spring 2017 College of Agriculture career fair. What I thought would be just a short visit turned into a discussion about their field scout internship program, which led to an interview the next day. I was attracted to Co-Alliance because of their positive reputation in my hometown, and the field scout internship would provide me with a summer-long, educational work experience which is exactly what I was looking for.
Can you tell me a little about what your overall experience was like working there and what your typical day was like?
The first thing I did was attend the field scout intern training. During this two-day event, I learned about Co-Alliance, safety in the fields, using the iPad, crop growth stages, identifying weeds, etc. On a normal work day I'd walk throughout the field, stopping from time to time to measure the stand count (crop population density), check the growth stage, and take a picture of the crop on the iPad. If I saw weeds, I'd drop a point on the map on the iPad and take a picture, and I'd do the same for insect damage, disease, disorder, or really anything the grower should know about. After that, I would check the temperature, decide whether the field was fine or if it needed attention, and write a short report about it.
What did this job teach you about yourself?
It taught me that I have an obligation to myself to stick to my values and pursue my goals.
How do you feel that your education at Purdue helped you while working for this company?
Purdue has not only taught me a lot about my field, but also how to improve my interpersonal skills, networking, and critical thinking skills.
