New Experience as Crop Protection Intern with Corteva leads to Full-Time Job Opportunity

Courtney Rodkey (Commodity Marketing; Rossville, IN) has completed an internship each summer that she has been at Purdue and this past summer was no different.

“Internships are great opportunities to see what you like and don’t like, get some real-world experience, and hopefully make good connections within your potential full-time employer,” said Courtney.

Courtney had been interested in Ag sales for a while now, so after completing a seed sales internship the previous summer, she wanted to diversify her experiences and test out crop protection. That led her to apply as a Commercial Sales Crop Protection Intern at Corteva Agriscience.

As an intern with Corteva, Courtney covered the Northeast district and lived at Penn State in State College, PA. That opened opportunities for her to work in states across the Northeast including, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Delaware, and Maryland.

 

In her role, she spent a lot of time with Territory Managers meeting with retailers, walking fields to diagnose problems, and learning about Corteva chemistry and chemical applications. By doing this, Courtney was able to gain a greater understanding of the chemistry side of the industry and learn more about customer relations, fruit and vegetable production, and agronomy in general.

One of her biggest takeaways from the summer is that agriculture is everywhere.

“I never thought of New York, Delaware, or New Jersey as ‘agriculture states’ before this summer,” said Courtney. “However, I now see that there is a huge specialty crop market in the Northeast and there are farms everywhere across the US!”

Courtney loved working for Corteva. After completing her internship, she was given the opportunity to interview for an Associate Territory manager position and this fall, she officially accepted a full-time position with them in their Sales Training Program.

When asked if she had anything she would like to share with other students Courtney said, “Internships have been the best thing I’ve done in college. I have created life-long friendships, had amazing mentors, and made incredible connections within each company I’ve worked for. I’ve also seen more areas of our country and learned more in the field than I ever could in a classroom. I highly encourage everyone to complete at least one internship and be open to relocating! “