Event gives young women insight into agricultural careers

GALESBURG, Ill. — Hundreds of young women took the opportunity to interact with women working in the agricultural industry during the Women Changing the Face of Agriculture event.

“I’m in awe. Look around and take a few seconds to soak in this moment,” said Carrie Hawkinson, vice president of academic services at Carl Sandburg College. “Here you are sitting with hundreds of others with whom you may share a passion.”

Hawkinson, who grew up on a family farm, told the high school and college students that she changed her major more than a few times during college. “I have found that I’ve used the knowledge gained from my experiences and education in agriculture every single day in and outside of the industry,” she added.

“Keep company with those who want to make a difference and be that to others,” she said during the career exploration event. “Value each person — value what they bring and value what they need.”

Curiosity is an important quality for people of any age. “Learn today and forever by being curious,” the speaker advised. “Learn from successes and challenges from all the people you have the privilege to encounter along the way,” she added.

“Go beyond introductions and actively work to bring others into the circle. My experience is the circle is actually a table and there’s always room for another chair.”

Hawkinson encouraged participants to interact with the company representatives. “Seek more in-depth knowledge about those that peak your interest and network. Welcome to a dynamic industry — welcome to agriculture.”

Kelsey Neville, president of the Illinois Agri-Women, attended WCFA during her sophomore year in college. “I talked to a Syngenta rep that year and for the last 10 and a half years I have worked for Syngenta as a sales rep,” she said. “I got my start with Syngenta from WCFA so you never know what might happen.”

Neville suggested the students should step out of their comfort zone. “Talk to companies you might not normally talk to because you might learn something new.”

Corteva Agriscience was one many companies that participated in WCFA. Haley Underwood, senior research associate, showed the students how she uses robots in the fields to assist with trait selection and gave them an opportunity to test their robot-driving skills.

“I’ve been working with these robots for about five years and in the beginning they were not autonomous so I had to drive them manually and I ran into a lot of corn,” Underwood said. “The autonomous feature was added this past year so now they are very easy to operate.”

The robots have cameras that can be adjusted to look at different parts of the corn plant. “They can be pointed up to look at the ear height which is a really important trait for our breeders,” the speaker said. “The top camera gives a 360-degree view up into the canopy to see the leaves.”

Underwood completed her bachelor’s degree in crop science at Western Illinois University and her master’s degree at the University of Illinois. “I didn’t grow up on a farm but I got really involved in ag classes and FFA in high school,” she said. “My dad is a high school science teacher, so when I realized I had a passion for ag and science, I figured out a way to put those two things together.”

After completing her degrees, Underwood started her career working for Monsanto, which is now Bayer, at the company headquarters near St. Louis, working on soybean diseases. “I’m a small-town girl, so St Louis wasn’t really my thing,” she told the students.

“When I was at Western, I did an internship at the Pioneer office just outside of Macomb,” Underwood said. “A position came open there and that’s where I’ve been for the last six years.”

John Deere representatives gave the young women an opportunity to try welding during WCFA. “When I was in high school, I thought I was going to be a fashion designer and create my own clothes,” Traci Bertelsen said. “I graduated from high school, got married the same year and my plans changed.”

Bertelsen was looking for a job in 2003 and found out John Deere was hiring welders. “I came here to Carl Sandberg College to get a welding certificate and in January of 2004, I had an interview with John Deere on a Friday afternoon,” she recalled. “I got a call 20 minutes after I left and they asked me to start on Monday morning.

“I welded for about seven years and then I went into assembly at John Deere Harvester Works,” Bertelsen said.

After working in assembly, Bertelsen also did quality inspection and the last few years she has worked as a wage trainer. “I train welding, assembly and soft skills,” she said. “I also go out to schools and recruit young people to work at John Deere.”

There are lots of opportunities for John Deere employees. “I didn’t think I wanted to be a welder for the rest of my life and I’m not,” the speaker said. “Whatever you start out at with John Deere, you don’t have to end there.”

One of the benefits offered by the company is assistance with education costs. “John Deere will pay two-thirds of your education after one year of service,” Bertelsen said. “So if I’m a welder and I want to go into financing, I can go to school to do that.”

For more information about Women Changing the Face of Agriculture, go to www.womenchangingthefaceofagriculture.com.