COA Career Fair Reflective Writing

At the College of Agriculture Career Fair, I spoke with three different poultry companies from the industry. First, I spoke with Sanderson Farms. I learned that Sanderson Farms does not have any locations in Alabama. However, they do have lots of locations in some awesome places throughout the United States. Sanderson Farms does not provide a housing stipend, but they pay $13 an hour. Since they do not provide you with a housing stipend, you get to choose which of their locations you would like to do your internship at, if hired. Next, I spoke with a representative from Tyson named Isaac. Isaac was the same guy that came to speak to the Poultry Science Club last year about Tyson. Isaac told me that they had not yet chosen their internships that they would offer for this summer yet, but they would have them posted online as soon as they made the final decision. However, he did say that Tyson takes around 250 interns in the state of Alabama every year, about 25 of them being in North Alabama. This conversation was definitely the shortest and least informative of the three. Lastly, I talked to Melissa Deeson from Wayne Farms. Melissa was definitely the easiest to talk to, and was more laid back. Melissa informed me that Wayne Farms would have their internships for the summer posted online within a few weeks. She also told me that if I saw one online that I was interested in that I should go ahead and apply instead of waiting for IPPE in Atlanta. To me, Wayne Farms is the more desirable option because they are close to home and they offer the internships that I am most interested in. The only representative that talked pay with me was from Sanderson Farms. I think the reason they did talk pay with the students was to inform us that they did not provide a housing stipend. I definitely gained some professional confidence. The career fair helped me to become more comfortable talking to professionals from jobs in which I was interested in. I did become a little anxious upon approaching the representatives, so hopefully next time I can hold my nerves a little better.