Growing Tomorrow's Leaders, Today

Growing Tomorrow’s Leaders, Today

JOHN LUMPE | CEO | ILLINOIS SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION

Irish poet William Butler Yeats once said, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." Since launching the first internship program in 2021, the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) has helped stoke those fires among five undergraduate students interested in careers in agriculture.

Of those five, all three from the 2022 class of interns received job offers to remain at ISA at the conclusion of their internships, and one of the first two interns of 2021 will be returning as a communications/government relations intern in 2023.

Nationwide, 56 percent of all interns accept job offers from the company they interned for. Another 14 percent of all interns are given a part-time job offer after completing their internship. At ISA, 80 percent of our interns continue employment with the organization, representing only one small indicator of the program’s undeniable success.

The value of internship opportunities for both the organization and students is boundless. Each generation seems to have its own way of looking toward the future with fresh eyes. Illinois has deep roots in agriculture, but the average age of an Illinois farmer is nearly 58 years old. Engaging younger generations and growing their knowledge and interest in the ag sector brings new ideas that help give Illinois farmers a competitive advantage.

Since 2020, ISA has increased its outreach efforts, including building relationships with ag educators and identifying where soy can have a larger presence. The agronomy team specifically has worked to build connections with universities and looks forward to hosting their first two interns next year, both students from Illinois State University, one of which will be ISA’s first graduate student intern. The goals of the agronomy team’s internships are to give their interns a variety of experiences and demonstrate careers that are available to provide third-party support to farmers and to provide traditional agronomy and outreach opportunities.

ISA’s internships are fully immersive; interns are onboarded much like regular staff and work a standard schedule. They’re integrated into meetings and given assignments that help advance the projects ISA’s staff and board work on full-time and help to grow their professional portfolio. Our interns are fully indoctrinated into our company culture, dedicated to serving Illinois farmers in myriad ways, with opportunities to learn about soybeans and agriculture from the different perspectives of each of our departments.

Interns attend two board meetings over the summer, getting a behind-the-scenes look at how the budget is allocated and how projects for the next year are handpicked, while contributing their efforts to the current year’s projects, a practice that helps provide a 360-degree view of how ISA operates. By experiencing everything at the organization holistically, students leave with more rounded knowledge of commodity agriculture in Illinois, providing a uniquely-lived experience to these young professionals.

Long gone are the days of interns being tasked with coffee runs and mindless paper shredding. At ISA we’re creating long-lasting and meaningful partnerships that grow more every year. We’re lighting fires.

ISA staff regularly attend university Career Days to promote internship opportunities to college students.