BLOOMINGTON, Ill. Wednesday, April 17, 2019 ​ – Forty-one students are taking part in GROWMARK's Exploring Agriculture Internship Program for the spring and summer. Fifteen spring interns start in April and twenty-six summer interns start in May. The students are spending 10 weeks working at FS member cooperatives in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Ohio, New Jersey and Ontario, Canada.

The interns are exposed to firsthand inner workings of Retail Energy and Agri-business to help them determine if a career in Retail Agriculture and Energy is right for them. They will be operating field research and crop monitoring equipment & technology for scouting, assist with facility and equipment maintenance & repair, and build professional relationships with FS locations and customers while learning the different products and services we provide.

"The Exploring Agriculture Intern program was developed to help build relationships between students and faculty at the two-year community college and technical school level and our FS member companies," said Kayla Portwood, GROWMARK University Relations Manager. "We are striving to provide students with hands-on experiences, allowing them to gain a strong understanding of the GROWMARK System and the agriculture industry," she added.

The interns, serving FS companies in the GROWMARK System, come from:

• Black Hawk Community College, IL
  • Mackenzie Steward, Spring Intern, West Central FS
• Bucks County Community College, NJ
  • John Torbert, Summer Intern, GROWMARK FS
• College of Lake County, IL
  • Cameron Markus, Summer Intern, Conserv FS
• Des Monies Area Community College
  • Zach McCloud, Spring Intern, Three Rivers FS
• Ellsworth Community College, IA
  • Caleb Engle, Spring Intern, New Century FS
  • Tyler Waddingham, Spring Intern, AgVantage FS
• Fox Valley Technical College
  • Henriet Jurjens, Summer Intern, Insight FS
• Hawkeye Community College, IA
  • Austin Frieden, Spring Intern, AgVantage FS
• Highland Community College, IL
  • Fran Rzasa, Summer Intern, Stephenson Service Co.
• Illinois Central College, IL
  • Travis Cook, Summer Intern, Ag View FS
  • Mitchell McKay, Summer Intern, Evergreen FS
• Iowa State University
  • Blake Arnold, Summer Intern, West Central FS
• Joliet Junior College, IL
  • Scott Freeman, Spring Intern, GRAINCO FS
• Kansas State University
  • Kendall Nelson, Summer Intern, GRAINCO FS
• Kaskaskia Community College, IL
  • Ryan Huelsmann, Spring Intern, Gateway FS
• Kirkwood Community College, IA
  • Jacob Bahe, Spring Intern, AgVantage FS
• Lake Land Community College, IL
  • Lexi Luebkemann, Spring Intern, Gateway FS
• Lincoln Land Community College, IL
  • Blake Dean, Summer Intern, M&M Service Co.
  • Nathan Goebel, Summer Intern, Christian County FS
  • Adam Hammel, Summer Intern, Sunrise FS
  • Colton Westen, Summer Intern, Evergreen FS
• Muscatine Community College
  • Austin Wedig, Spring Intern, AgVantage FS
• North Central Missouri College, MO
  • Andrew Bimson, Spring Intern, Prairieland FS
• Northeast Iowa Community College, IA
  • Leona Schlatter, Spring Intern, AgVantage FS
• Ohio State ATI, OH
  • Matt Cole, Summer Intern, Legacy Farmers Cooperative
• Ohio State University, OH
  • Eric Ritter, Summer Intern, Legacy Farmers Cooperative
• Parkland Community College, IL
  • Brandon Williams, Summer Intern, Illini FS
  • Sam Duggins, Summer Intern, Evergreen FS
• Rend Lake Community College
  • Joseph Minton, Summer Intern, Gateway FS
• Richland Community College, IL
  • Ryan Galloway, Summer Intern, Evergreen FS
• Southeast Missouri State University, MO
  • Wade Tittle, Summer Intern, Prairieland FS
  • Aaron Jones, Summer Intern, Southern FS
• Southern Illinois University, IL
  • John Vaughn, Summer Intern, Southern FS
• University of Northwestern Ohio, OH
  • Paige Fitzwater, Spring Intern, Legacy Farmers Cooperative
• University of Guelph – Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada
  • Ben Van Lagen, Summer Intern, FS Partners
  • Alex Kloostra, Summer Intern, FS Partners
• University of Wisconsin – Platteville
  • Megan Draves, Summer Intern, Insight FS
  • Taylor Chwala, Summer Intern, Insight FS
• University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
  • Jake Spaude, Summer Intern, Insight FS
• Wabash Valley Community College, IL
  • Jeffry Siegle, Spring Intern, Wabash Valley Service Co.
• Vincennes University, IN
  • Brady Benson, Spring Intern, Wabash Valley Service Co.​