As a part of Bayer Crop Science this summer, I feel as thought I had 40 different mentors. Each and every individual that took time to speak with us, truly made an impact and taught me something I didn’t know before. It is amazing when I think about the fact that I learned new things, continuously for over 15 days this summer. Although Jasmine and I had one coordinator, the majority of our STEM learning came from the guests that we shadowed, worked with, and talked with. Our coordinator, was the brains to organize and reach out to all of these individuals from corporate big business, to the labs, to the green houses, the bee care center, and around the office. Each and every one had something to share, that we did not know the day before.
The experience was structure perfectly. We first gained a big overview of the business and learned about all that Bayer does for the crop science industry. Then we jumped right into plant genome engineering and trait analysis at the Innovation Center. They took us through the product development process. We ended the week with my all time favorite day… at the Bee Care Center participating in the Hive Assessment. The following week, we learned from all three teams at the greenhouse; another great team of mentors! They were not shy about letting us get our hands dirty and learn about the protocols and studies put in place. The third and final week were spent learning from sales, marketing, conflict management, and others in the office side of the business. We were also taken through the safety labs, learned about quality assurance, and the regulatory approval process. This provided me with daily “ah-ha” moments, often even multiple times a day.
To say we only had 1 mentor would not be fair. The connections we made with the 40+ mentors who impacted our experience, continue to fuel my learning and positive reflection about my internship. My hope is to continue relationships with the majority of them share with them all the ways that they have impacted me as an individual and me as an educator.
Sadly, the relationship with our coordinator has ended, as she has moved on to a different company. I will continue to connect to all those who taught me so much. Thank you, to everyone who made this such an amazing and memorable experience.
Danielle – Casey – Bryce – Brian – Deborah – Amanda – Christopher – Ian – Cory – Rachel – Sarah – Morgan – Cory – Andy – James – Jeff – Marcia – Corey – Amy – Jihi – Amy – Beth – Jenna – Brittany – Kurt – Nathan – Lauren – Ashley – Tzippi – Bruce – Alexander – Ellen – Sarah – Debbie – Karl – Mike – TJ – Tom – Roland
I cannot thank you enough.