Showcasing the diverse opportunities available within the pork industry, 23 students from 16 colleges recently concluded their week-long experience in Seaboard Foods’ annual Winternship program.
Participants explore the operations of an integrated pork production company, network with company experts, better define career paths and gain knowledge about how pork is produced, the release explains.
From operations on farms, feed mills and a pork processing plant to the logistics of transportation, environmental resource management and food safety, students experience the production of pork from beginning to end.
The experience includes a week packed full of activities within the Seaboard Foods integrated system, says Jennie Watkins, director of human resources at Seaboard Foods, and provides college students in their freshman through junior years the opportunity to become more aware of career paths in agriculture.
“I’m passionate about agriculture and excited to tell everyone what I have learned at Seaboard Foods,” says Maycee Price, a senior at Tarelton State University and recent Wintership attendee. “The whole process has been surprising to me. It’s crazy how many pigs and sows that are cared for here, and there are so many details involved in the farm to fork process.”
Price has a background in showing pigs, which led her to attend the program to learn more about the company and how it operates.
Since the first Winternship program in 2010, the educational opportunity has served 258 students with a real-world view of the industry and a professional gateway—as some students have taken an interest in the company through more long-term commitments. Last year, Seaboard Foods offered nearly two-thirds of the Winternship students summer internships or trainee positions, the release says.
“We want the Winternship to provide a realistic look at how pork is produced and the job opportunities our sector of agriculture has to offer,” says Grae Griffin, vice president of human resources at Seaboard Foods. “As an industry, we have a responsibility to ignite students’ passions about the pork industry and demonstrate that we are innovative and provide opportunities for fulfilling careers.”
