Agricultural Operations Management student Carson Ostrum spent over a month shadowing and learning from the Ag-Pro sales team, the service and parts department, and a store General Manager.

Learn more about Carson’s internship in his Q&A below:

What was involved/what was your role during your internship?

During my internship, I spent two weeks learning/shadowing the sales team where I went on sales calls and learned the ins/outs of selling heavy machinery from a handful of salesmen. I also spent two weeks within the service and parts department, learning how to handle service orders and provide great customer service to in-store customers. The final two weeks of my internship were spent working with the General Manager of the store where we would do anything from determining market share, reviewing expense reports, or just have discussions regarding ways to improve business.

What was your favorite part about completing this internship?

The best part of this internship was definitely the management training aspect of it. This was closer to the corporate side of the business that I am interested in pursuing as a career. One of my favorite parts of my internship was getting to test and drive various commercial tractors and lawnmowers. I had a great time driving them around and learning how they operated.

What are the benefits of an internship?

Internships provide real-world experience that is nearly impossible to get in a classroom. They help you determine what you like, and in a lot of cases what you do not like, in a professional career setting. Most internships allow you to work in a variety of jobs where you get to learn a bit of everything, which I have been told by industry professionals is so important to do your job well.

Why would you recommend internships to other students?

Students should do internships so that they can have an idea of what they want to do after graduating. Actual experience in the workplace is so vital to getting a useful education. While college is needed to get the desirable jobs, it only gives students the base/fundamental knowledge. Internships allow students to get a taste of the real industry and gain hands-on experience. Overall, it was a great experience and I got to learn about an industry that I had never given much thought to before.

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