Tanna Petersak with Gale Cunningham (WYXY, Champaign, IL)
and 2013 intern Jesse Harding, who now works at KRVN.
WITHOUT THE NAFB INTERN SCHOLARSHIPS…it would not be possible to give these and others the opportunity to experience farm broadcasting. Gale Cunningham said, “I’ve been blessed with multiple interns, and some that have taken their experience to go on to be fine broadcast advocates for agriculture in their own professional setting.”
Trent Hoveln is a senior at Illinois College in Jacksonville majoring in communication and rhetorical studies and psychology, with a minor in sociology. “My passion for agriculture began practically from the moment I was born. I grew up playing with tractors, and once I got old enough, I was able to help out on my family’s dairy farm,” Trent said. “My main area of knowledge going into this past summer’s internship was the dairy industry and the basic life skills associated with dairy farming. My first day on the job was one of the most amazing days of the summer. Not only did I begin to learn how to operate the equipment for the radio station, but I also began to learn about the agriculture markets, which is something that I knew nothing about coming into the internship.” He added, “From that day on, I was constantly learning something new every day, although not every day was as information rich as that first day. Obviously one of the biggest things I learned this past summer was how to read and interpret the agricultural markets, but I also learned many other things as well.” Overall, Trent said the internship has been one of the best experiences of his life. “I would not trade it for anything. It has helped me to open new horizons for potential areas of interest within the job market, and I have had the opportunity to not only learn, but to make new connections with people that no one can put a price tag on.”
Tanna Petersak is a junior at Illinois State University studying agribusiness. For the past two years, she was a farm broadcasting intern for WYXY Classic Radio. “I realized how uninformed I was on agricultural operations. I was uneducated on the Chicago Board of Trade and the market trading. Working for a radio station whose main focus is agriculture, it was a must for me to learn the functions of trade.” She added, “The speaking skills I received from the internship are useful every day of my life. I feel completely comfortable doing a live interview with just about anyone, and I would have never thought that I could.” As she plans for her career she emphasized that using the contacts she made has helped tremendously. “Looking back on my time at WYXY Classic, I am walking away with so much more than just an internship.”
