College students get real world experience at Farm Credit offices

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chelsey Mann
(765) 446-0809
CMANN@e-farmcredit.com
College students get real world experience at Farm Credit offices
4 Purdue students hired as interns
(Lafayette, IN) – (June 18, 2010) - How do you get a job without experience? And how
do you get experience without a job? Four Purdue College of Agriculture students who
are interning for Farm Credit Services of Mid-America this summer are solving this
problem by taking advantage of the opportunity to work and learn in a real work
environment with mentors and professionals who work in their respective fields of study.
The opportunity is a major step in preparing college students to enter the world of life
after college.
Chelsey Mann, Sarah Jordan, Keith Hoeing, and Ray Cottingham are four of the group of
10 interns this summer. Each intern has the chance to gain valuable experiences while
working in a unique Farm Credit Office.
Chelsey Mann is working in the Lafayette, Indiana office. Chelsey Mann’s hometown is
Cloverdale, Indiana where she grew up on a family farm. Chelsey will be a senior at
Purdue University this fall, double majoring in Agricultural Education and Agricultural
Economics.
Sarah Jordan is located in Eaton, Ohio which is not too far from her hometown of
Richmond, Indiana where she lives on her family’s grain and livestock operation. Sarah
will be a junior at Purdue University and is studying Agricultural Economics and Animal
Science.
Keith Hoeing will be in Rushville, Indiana this summer, which also happens to be where
his family’s dairy operation is located. Keith will be a senior next year at Purdue
majoring in Agribusiness Management.
Ray Cottingham is working in the Williamsport, Indiana office for the summer. Ray’s
hometown is Pine Village, Indiana where he grew up on a family grain operation. Ray
will also be a senior next fall majoring in Agricultural Economics.
According to Stacy Mullins, recruitment specialist for Farm Credit, the internship allows
college students to practically apply the skills they are learning in college. “They are
getting first hand look at what a lending officer does for Farm Credit and can apply what
they’ve learned in a real-life situation,” she said.

As interns, the ten students are assigned mentors who guide them through the
components of the lending business and helped with their career objectives. Each intern
is participating in many aspects of the lending business, attending sales meetings, and
completing specialized projects that were develop to be of interest to each particular
office’s needs.
Interns also attend an Intern Retreat in mid-summer. This year’s retreat will be held in
Ohio where interns will get to experience the relationship Farm Credit has with some of
its Amish customers.
The opportunity to network and have a better understanding of what people do in the
field of finance were motivating factors for this set of interns. And like many Farm
Credit interns before, the experience may help them decide to enter the world of
agricultural finance after they complete college.
Photo Caption
(Left to Right) Ray Cottingham, Sarah Jordan, Chelsey Mann, and Keith Hoeing, interns
with Farm Credit Services.
About Farm Credit Services
Farm Credit Services of Mid-America is a $15.5 billion financial services cooperative
serving over 85,500 farmers, agribusinesses and rural residents in Kentucky, Ohio,
Indiana and Tennessee. The association provides loans for all farm and rural living
purposes including real estate, operating, equipment and housing and related services
such as crop and life insurance and vehicle, equipment and building leases. For more
information about Farm Credit, call 1-800-444-FARM (3276).