How AgriNovus Indiana is Connecting Students with Careers in Agbiosciences

College students with the AgriNovus Indiana Field Atlas program were in Seymour for a tour of the Premier Companies Ag & Energy Services corporate offices and the Premier Ag Cortland Branch given by COO Ryan Priest and Conservation Specialist Sydney Calhoun. Photo: C.J. Miller / Hoosier Ag Today.

There are thousands of college students across Indiana that know they want to work in the science field—but may not know of the countless career opportunities that exist in the agbiosciences. That’s why AgriNovus Indiana is helping students to make those connections.

“I know people who are farmers and I never grew up in that type of setting, so I didn’t think it was for me necessarily. However I want to learn more about agbiosciences,” says Bethanie Majewski from Portage, Indiana, who is studying biology at Marian University in Indianapolis. She’s also part of the AgriNovus Indiana Field Atlas platform to build awareness of the agbioscience industry through company tours, on-farm visits, and face-to-face interactions with Indiana’s agbioscience leaders.

“Going into the Field Atlas ambassadorship, I knew something I was interested, but I didn’t know necessarily if I would connect with it. Then, when we started with orientation, I knew this was a great decision,” she says.

“I’m just discovering that just agbioscience and agriculture are truly everywhere, but I didn’t think it would be something that I would be so passionate about. But I think there is a part for me in agbiosciences—I just have to figure out where.”

Bethanie was part of a tour with eleven other college students last week of True Essence Foods, which is a chocolate and fruit processing facility near downtown Indy—as well as Premier Companies, an ag and fuel company based in Seymour.

Bethanie Majewski, an ambassador and member of the AgriNovus Indiana Field Atlas program. She’s from Portage, Indiana and studying biology at Marian University in Indianapolis. Photo: C.J. Miller / Hoosier Ag Today.

She says the Field Atlas program has helped her realize that she wants to make an impact in the agbiosciences.

I really find research fascinating and I know different companies like Corteva Agriscience do a lot of different research. Also, I find the animal science part of agbiosciences really interesting to me. I’m not really sure where that all is going to lead me, but I know I have a definite passion for it and I’m kind of excited to see how it all pans out,” she says.

Bethanie highly recommends that students learn more about the opportunities in agbiosciences through the AgriNovus Indiana Field Atlas program.

“There are so many different opportunities—especially if you reach out to AgriNovus Indiana because they can help get you connected to all these different companies. I know there are lots of internship opportunities.

“I’ve also talked to people who want to do human resources (HR) work and they realize that maybe they can connect with agbioscience through HR because that’s still actively helping the world within that field, so I think it all connects. It’s just taking that first step to be interested and wanting to discover what it holds.”

Click HERE to learn more about the Field Atlas program through AgriNovus Indiana.

Marco Decca, Equipment Design Engineer with True Essence Foods near downtown Indianapolis, discusses the role that engineering plays in processing chocolate and fruit for food products with students from the AgriNovus Indiana Field Atlas program. Photo: C.J. Miller / Hoosier Ag Today.
Sydney Calhoun, Conservation Specialist with Premier Companies, discusses opportunities in agbiosciences with students from the AgriNovus Indiana Field Atlas program. Photo: C.J. Miller / Hoosier Ag Today.