Living in the cities

Even though there are lots of cities across the U.S., Minnesotans sometimes refer to the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) as "the cities".  Though I'm not currently living in either, I'm living in Robbinsdale, which is a small suburb right next to Minneapolis.  Last summer I lived in Kansas City so living in a city isn't totally foreign to me anymore, but it still takes some time to get used to.  At least being in the Twin Cities area I am close to drive home for a weekend if I just need to go to the farm.

I finally have my university laptop, which I now get to keep forever, back so I'll likely start to post a bit more regularly again.  Last Monday I started my summer internship with Wilbur-Ellis Company as the Agribusiness Marketing Intern.  I'm working half with the Nutrition Team and half with the Seed Technology Team.  It's been very interesting so far, especially learning a lot about plant nutrition, seed and agronomy in general.  For someone from a dairy farm with just enough acres to feed our cows, it's a lot to learn but I enjoy it.  This week I took a trip down to Ames, Iowa to visit the Seed Technology office there and learn more about the seed business.

Living in the Twin Cities does have its advantages, including being able to walk to Cub Foods and really being able to walk to anything I might need, having access to anything I might want fairly close by, and that I have a lot of relatives in this area.  I'm actually staying with one of my aunts so I have a 30-40 minute commute but I get to hang out with her.  Like when I was in Kansas City, I do sometimes miss the fields and the open land so I was glad when I got to go to Ames and drive on the interstate for 3 hours through fields.

Pomp and Circumstance

I apologize for letting this blog go for a bit.  The last month of school was incredibly busy and, though I had plenty to write about, it seemed there were always more pressing things to get done such as class projects and applying for jobs.  I'll have to change to title of this blog soon as I am no longer a college student.  Last Saturday, May 7th, I graduated from the University of Minnesota, Crookston with a B.S. in Communication and Marketing.  I was also one of the first two graduates of the UMC honors program, which I loved being involved in.

My immediate family and I before the ceremony.

My boyfriend and I before the ceremony.  He graduates in December but we only have a spring ceremony so he walked with me.  He's also from a dairy farm and is majoring in Software Engineering.

I loved college so leaving it was bittersweet, especially since I only had 3 years of it.  Pomp and Circumstance is always, it seems, played at graduation ceremonies and it never fails to make me a bit sad as well as get stuck in my head for weeks.  I'll miss many things:  being surrounded by people, having roommates my age, the extra-curriculars, my part-time job, the learning environment, my research project, Crookston itself, but most of all the people.  I met many, many amazing friends, faculty and staff at UMC who I will never forget and I hope to keep in touch with.  

Despite the air of sadness surrounding graduation, I am also excited.  I'm starting an Agribusiness Marketing internship on Monday, May 16th, in Burnsville, MN.  This opportunity will allow me to explore some aspects of agriculture that I'd love to learn more about.  I'll be moving to Robbinsdale, MN this weekend for the summer.  Though I lived in Kansas City last summer for my internship, the Twin Cities are a bit bigger so this will be a slightly new experience for me as well.