What position do you hold at WISE Foundation? What has been your career path so far?
Jake: I am the Outbound program manager here at the WISE Foundation. It is my job to not only recruit Ag students from across the states to participate in this program, but to also find them the best placement. This is one of my favorite challenges.
I enjoy talking with the student and figuring out his/her skills and personality. This comes from understanding the student’s background, experience, and deciding what future goals they plan to accomplish. From there, I am able to find the best placement we feel they will have the most success and happiness at.
Did YOU intern abroad?! Which intern abroad destination is most underrated?
Jake: I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in this program myself after I graduated. I have always been involved and loved every aspect of agriculture even though it seems to be a fading trend in today’s youth. But without our substantial agriculture in the United States, where do you think this country would be? So it was an immense pleasure to be able to travel abroad and experience the same type of agriculture, but in a completely different aspect in Australia.
Australian agriculture is in a category of its own. The efficiency and productivity of the farm ground is different from our own, but the interesting quality about Australia is dramatics changes in landscape. You can be in the flat dessert to the rolling plains to the flourishing rainforest all in one long drive.
If you do so, you will be able to not only see the different landscapes, but also able to see the different farm practices and cultures as you travel across. Australia is extremely vast and diverse in all aspects.
Describe a time when you felt especially proud to be part of the WISE Foundation team.
To me, one of the greatest pleasures I can have with my position is knowing one of my clients is having a good time and they are happy.
Jake: I enjoy my job the most when I get the chance to hear feedback from students. There is a since of accomplishment in doing my job when I get to see the pictures and post that students send out while they are there.
Being able to read their post about enjoying their time there or seeing pictures of them enjoying their selves on the tractor, at the beach, or a picture with their host family allows me to relive my experience and think back on the good times and great memories I had while I was participating in the program.
