A Summer in the Cornfields: My Unexpected Internship
There’s something I never thought would come out of my mouth.
Growing up in a small town in central Illinois, cornfields were everywhere. When giving directions to someone from another town, I’d say, “Take a left at the cornfield and a right at the next cornfield.” Occasionally, a soybean field would pop up along the way, making navigation just a tad bit easier. Yes, I know what you’re thinking—navigating by corn is about as successful as using the sky as a map. It’s not easy at all.
Life in a town with a population under 2,000 is as flat and unremarkable as the Great Plains it sits upon.
An Unexpected Call
It was the summer after my first year of college, and after my endless stream of internship applications fell flat, I got a call. It was Bayer. Yes, that Bayer. Like the one that makes medicine.
They wanted me to help inspect fields. Specifically, I’d be conducting check-ups on hybridized cornfields worth tens of millions of dollars. With no other plans and a hunger for hard work, I jumped at the chance and started the next day after moving back home from school.
A Glimpse into Agricultural Engineering
Due to various contracts and NDAs, I can’t dive into specifics about what I worked on, but trust me when I say it was amazing. The amount of science, engineering, and technology involved in the production of hybrid seed corn is astonishing.
Not only did I get to lead a group of five coworkers, but I also gained hands-on experience as an agricultural engineer. I solved problems every day—like the time my car got stuck in the middle of a cornfield. Or the time I lost both my personal and work phones in the vast cornfield (pro tip: finding a phone on silent in the middle of a cornfield is way harder than finding a needle in a haystack).
Lessons from the Fields
Sometimes, the most valuable lessons come from the most unexpected places. I never imagined I’d work in agriculture, but that summer, it became one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. For that, I’m thankful.