Twelve individuals will be joining North America’s largest A.I. organization as summer interns in a variety of roles and departments. The cooperative welcomes Katie Frost, Carly Olufs, Skylar Buell, Cady McGehee, Hannah Sykes, Paige Holdridge, Seth Payne, Noah Porter, Cheyenne Baldwin, Logan Bauman, Matthew Hall and Jacob Rigsby.
“Both practical work experience within the agricultural industry and networking are extremely important to help college students prepare for full-time employment beyond graduation,” says David Thorbahn, Select Sires president and C.E.O. “Select Sires offers hands-on internship opportunities to work with trained professionals each year. This program helps to expand knowledge of the industry, while allowing interns to contribute to the day-to-day operation of the Select Sires federation.”
Katie Frost is joining Select Sires as the veterinary services intern. Originally from Bloomington, Ohio, Frost graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in animal science and is now studying at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. During the upcoming school year Frost will serve as secretary of the Veterinary Public Health Club. Her experience raising livestock and showing meat goats and market lambs in 4-H and FFA has amplified her interest in agriculture and is a driving force in her pursuit of a career in food animal medicine. Frost will assist with daily veterinary duties to provide for the health and welfare of livestock in order to collect a quality semen product.
Carly Olufs of Petaluma, Calif. joins Select Sires as the dairy sire marketing intern. She is set to graduate from Oklahoma State University in the spring of 2020 with a degree in animal science emphasizing business. Her dedication to the dairy industry began on her family’s ranch where she raised her own herd of show-winning Jerseys and Holsteins. Olufs’ passion for agriculture has continued throughout college with involvement in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Ambassadors program, Dairy Science Club and the Oklahoma State dairy judging team. She will assist the marketing department with cattle photography, fitting and numerous other projects.
Skylar Buell, a native of Temperance, Mich., joins Select Sires as the corporate communications intern. Her passion for the dairy industry comes from growing up on her family’s replacement heifer operation and helping on her grandfather’s Jersey farm. Buell is a student at The Ohio State University, where she will earn her degree in agricultural communications with a minor in dairy science in 2020. She is a member of Buckeye Dairy Club and the Ohio State dairy judging team. This summer, she will design the 2020 breeding calendars and promote Select Sires as a member of the communications team.
Cady McGehee of Okeechobee, Fla. is interning in the semen processing and research department. McGehee is a student at Kaskaskia College with plans to transfer to a four-year university to study animal science and business management. McGehee has deep roots in agriculture, exhibiting multiple species of livestock in 4-H and has competed in numerous contests through Holstein Association USA and the American Guernsey Association. In the laboratory, McGehee will assist with evaluation and initial processing of semen while also working on a variety of research projects that involve processing and cryopreservation.
Hannah Sykes, from Clarksburg, Ohio, is joining Select Sires as the laboratory intern. Sykes currently attends Wilmington College and is majoring in animal science. Throughout college, she has been involved in Aggies/Collegiate 4-H and is also a member of Sigma Alpha Sorority. Growing up on a fourth generation beef operation, Sykes has had a passion for the livestock industry instilled from a young age. Sykes will assist with daily operations of the lab, initial processing of semen, data entry and extending product life.
Joining Select Sires as livestock technicians are Paige Holdridge, Seth Payne and Noah Porter. Hailing from Delta, Ohio, Holdridge currently attends The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute where she is studying animal science with a dairy specialization. Payne, of Milford Center, Ohio, will be assisting at The Hoyt Center and Calf Campus this summer. Porter, of Wooster, Ohio, is currently studying animal science at The Ohio State University.
Former interns Cheyenne Baldwin, Logan Bauman, Matthew Hall and Jacob Rigsby are returning to Select Sires to work as livestock technicians. A native of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, Baldwin is currently a student at Wilmington College. Bauman, of Sterling, Ohio, is on track to graduate from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2021. Hall, from Powell, Ohio, currently studies at The Ohio State University. Returning for his third summer at Select Sires, Rigsby hails from Marysville, Ohio, and attends Heidelberg University. Throughout the summer, livestock technicians assist with livestock care, semen collection, barn upkeep, and assist the veterinary staff when needed.
Based in Plain City, Ohio, Select Sires Inc., is North America’s largest A.I. organization and is comprised of seven farmer-owned and -controlled cooperatives. As the industry leader, it provides highly fertile semen as well as excellence in service and programs to achieve its basic objective of supplying dairy and beef producers with North America’s best genetics at a reasonable price.
Source: Select Sires
