Student Profile
Krista Bock
Krista Bock is a success story for our department. She has already pursued two study abroad experiences, an internship with Pioneer Hi-Bred International and has been hired for another internship with Monsanto this summer—a pretty impressive story for a young college student coming from a graduating high school class of 16 students.
In Her Own Words
I am from Philadelphia, Mo., a small community in northeastern part of the state.
I chose agribusiness management as my major because I've grown up in agriculture. My father is a farmer so I've lived on a farm my entire life. There is no other industry that I would rather be involved. I choose the business side because I felt that was the best fit for me.
I studied abroad for six weeks in Prague, Czech Republic, the summer after my freshman year and also in Thailand during winter break 2007-08. In the Czech Republic, we were in a classroom every day learning about culture, history, language, rural life, agricultural productions and economics. We would take weekly visits to farms or take a tour around Prague. On the weekends, when we did not have classes, I visited Hungary, Austria and Poland.
In Thailand during winter break, we took tours around Thailand while learning about marine and terrestrial life, conservation and Thai culture. We went scuba diving, visited a clouded leopard breeding facility, rode elephants and spent a few days in a national park getting to see gibbons and exotic birds.
Studying abroad opened my eyes to very different parts of the world. In the Czech Republic, I saw a whole different type of agriculture. While in Thailand, I experienced a completely different way of life. Both of these experiences broadened my horizon, made me a better person and gave me memories that I will never forget. I can honestly say they were some of the best times in my life.
On the professional side, studying abroad helps me better understand agriculture as a whole and allowed me to see a side of the profession that I had never seen before. Before, I only thought of agriculture the way that things were done on my family farm. After studying abroad, I realized agriculture was multi-dimensional. Also, I have learned that I would love to have a job where I can work internationally at some point in my career.
I would recommend studying abroad to other students. You get to see things that most people dream of—a different way of life, culture, language, history and agriculture. You get out of your comfort zone and experience something that is irreplaceable. Studying abroad expands your mind and you get to have a lot of fun doing it!
Who gets to say they've scuba dived in Thailand, rode elephants through the jungle, walked on the Charles Bridge in Prague, visited four different European countries or visited the Cathedral of St. Vitus in Prague. No one ever would have thought that a girl who graduated with 16 people in her class would ever have experienced things like this. You can't pass it up.
I studied abroad during the summer after my freshman year because I knew that I would want to get internships the following summers. This early start was the best decision that I could have made. I had time to get two great internships as well as study abroad again. My advice for a freshman is plan what you want to do for the next four years and see where studying abroad works in the best.
I had an internship with Pioneer Hi-Bred International the summer after my sophomore year. I was located in Miami, Mo., at the Pioneer Research Center where I was the Product Advancement Trial Intern. My responsibilities included contacting farmers to find out when they had planted their corn and soybeans and make arrangements with them to visit the plot. I independently managed my work schedule and visited farmers. At each plot, I logged notes on corn stand count, residue, order of planting, insects and disease. I had 208 corn and soybean plots around Missouri. When I was not looking at my plots, I was at the Research Center pollinating corn.
This summer I will be working for Monsanto in Illiopolis, Ill., as Seed Production Intern. I was hired by chance. I work in CAFNR Career Services. A representative from Pioneer who is an alumnus of my professional agriculture sorority (Sigma Alpha) asked me to come in and talk. After sitting down, I learned more about the internship and thought I could see myself doing this job. I was asked for the second-round interviews and was hired in February.
I plan to talk to prospective students about internships because they are one of the most important things that you can do during your college career (beside studying abroad). Internships allow you to find out if you enjoy something or not. In my case, I found out I loved my job, but some students find out that they don't and are more knowledgeable about themselves in the process.
The most valuable thing I got from my internship is finding what I wanted to do for my future career. I loved what I did and can see myself doing this type of work for the rest of my life. I added a plant science minor because I thought that would benefit my future career in agronomy and within the seed industry.
