Take a moment and imagine an incoming junior in college, who is studying agricultural education at Purdue University, working as a summer intern for an insurance company. Sounds crazy, right?
How could education possibly fit into insurance? A future high school teacher in insurance? On the surface, it seems hard to imagine how my plan of study fits into the Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Internship Program, but it does!
Education and learning are concepts that surround our everyday lives; it’s inevitable. So, let’s dive in and learn how that incoming junior majoring in agricultural education working for Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance as an intern, became a reality.
Becoming an Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance intern
My name is Lucas Lyons, and I have the privilege of working for Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance as a farm training specialist intern this summer. As a proud seventh-generation row crop and livestock farmer living in Jay County, Indiana, I have been surrounded by agriculture my entire life. Living this lifestyle compelled me to stay true to my roots and pursue a degree in agricultural education at Purdue University (Boiler Up!).
As a College of Agriculture student, we can attend a career fair in the fall and spring. Once I learned about this opportunity as an incoming freshman, I was eager to attend the career fair to find an internship. I suited up, carefully crafted my resume, and made my way to the Purdue College of Agriculture’s Fall Career Fair.
Honestly, I was terrified about going, but then suddenly I wasn’t. At the career fair, I saw a familiar face, John Nagle, farm training specialist, working in the Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance booth. My attention quickly shifted. I had known John before this and was aware of his role with Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance. After talking to him and Tiffany Hackett, talent acquisition partner, I was still a little intimidated by the idea of pursuing the career opportunity. This hesitation caused me to miss the application window for that year, and I had to search for another internship. Despite this, John still encouraged me to apply for it next year. So, I did exactly that.
I suited up again, re-designed my resume, and went back to the Purdue College of Agriculture’s Fall Career Fair in 2023. I talked to John and Tiffany again and was immediately sold on the internship. They offered me an interview the next day, so I went for it. A few days after interviewing, I was offered the position and accepted without hesitation. I was on cloud nine and could not wait to start my internship at Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance in the summer to work on my professional development.
Fast forward to today, here I am sitting on the fifth floor of 225 South East Street, working alongside seventeen other talented interns, countless experienced full-time employees, and 92 amazing counties in Indiana. What a niche opportunity; getting to work for such a dynamic and involved company that serves the entire state of Indiana in good times and bad. For me, in this role, it gets even better.
I have the unique opportunity to help protect the farmers that feed and clothe our growing population; making sure that they are equipped with the knowledge and protection for their farms and livelihoods. This internship and company give me a sense of pride because of my deep roots in farming and agriculture, just like Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance’s deep roots. Knowing that I get to help train, educate, and engage fellow employees and agents about farming and agriculture so that they can better serve farming families like mine, brings me great joy. The joy is hard for me to put into words but can be directly translated into the projects I work on over the summer.
As the farm training specialist intern, I have many branches I work through all while remaining rooted in education. Some of my main branches include communication, training, farm safety and resource development. Each of them is vastly different, but all are related at the end of the day.
No day is ever the same in the internship, and I love it. Some of my bigger tasks include organizing the Purdue Farm Management Tour for Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, which we are a gold-level sponsor for. I help maintain our company’s presence at the event, trying to connect with current clients and prospect for new ones. I also get the unique opportunity to work on projects using several communication platforms, like this article, trying to promote farming and agricultural knowledge through educational outreach initiatives.
Internally, I work closely with the farm underwriting team, county agents and farm field underwriters to develop engaging and relevant training materials about modern-day farming and insurance. These materials help new agents or underwriters better understand their jobs and how farming works. I also collaborate with Indiana Farm Bureau, a non-profit membership organization that represents the interests of farmers and rural communities, on a farm safety program for our youth to spread awareness about farm safety and reduce the number of accidents happening on the farm. Additionally, I work to develop marketing materials about farm safety while also visiting farms to encourage and help them adopt a farm emergency plan.
In the last branch, resource development, I work to update our Farm Insurance to Value (ITV) Quick Calculator to streamline the process of accurately quoting farming machinery and structures. Of course, this description is not all-encompassing as there are always new things that arise within my job, but that’s what I love about it. Never in a million years would I have pictured myself working for an insurance company, but here I am.
About the Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Summer Internship Program
Every year, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance offers an 11-week paid summer internship program across many different professional disciplines. Being an intern with Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance is more than insurance or a summer job. It is an opportunity to expand your professional network, enhance your skills and learn more about several specialized career fields. You can also job shadow with any department that may interest. The chance for an internship with Indiana Farm Bureau insurance becomes available in late August and early September through the careers page, Handshake, or at a local college career fair. Learn more about the Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Internship Program here!
