This year’s class of student interns are well underway in their summer projects here at GreenStone. We are pleased to share their stories and unique perspectives in our intern series. Keep an eye out for more blogs featuring GreenStone’s summer interns!
Justin Webster
As a farm kid growing up around dairy farms, I have an extensive background in agriculture. This plays an enormous role in my future aspirations. The agricultural industry is all I have ever known, and I do not foresee myself leaving anytime soon. Although I have always known I want to pursue a career in agriculture, I knew incorporating my interest in numbers was necessary. This is where GreenStone came in. GreenStone allows me to nurture my passion for agriculture and put my accounting major to use outside of the Michigan State University classrooms where I spend my time during the school year. As a second-year credit intern with GreenStone, I am working on a peer comparison project focusing on the dairy industry. By looking at data used for this project, my team and I compare dairy operations of similar sizes and analyze why one may be thriving while the other may be struggling. This real-life experience with data analysis is incredibly valuable as I continue into my final year in school.
When the time came to apply for internships and the GreenStone name appeared during my search, I knew I had to apply. I had a base knowledge of what GreenStone provides, since my grandmother was on the board of directors for 20 years. I knew it was a financial association specifically dedicated to helping rural communities and agriculture; in fact, it was the only agricultural financial association I knew. It took my first summer interning, however, to realize the company offers much more. Even as an intern, I have responsibilities and opportunities allowing me to make an impact on the company, such as riding along on customer visits with financial services officers. GreenStone also offers its interns opportunities to job shadow employees outside of their department. This allows for a greater understanding of the company, as well as providing an opportunity for interns to reflect on what kind of full-time career is best for them. Reflection and growth opportunities such as these are invaluable in an internship setting and really are what set this internship program apart from others.
The friendly, dedicated and supportive team surrounding me daily motivate me to learn as much as possible while I am here. My family’s farm has been around for almost 100 years, and I want to be there to help it grow and succeed in the next 100 years. I believe my experiences here at GreenStone will help me do just that.
Justin Webster
As a farm kid growing up around dairy farms, I have an extensive background in agriculture. This plays an enormous role in my future aspirations. The agricultural industry is all I have ever known, and I do not foresee myself leaving anytime soon. Although I have always known I want to pursue a career in agriculture, I knew incorporating my interest in numbers was necessary. This is where GreenStone came in. GreenStone allows me to nurture my passion for agriculture and put my accounting major to use outside of the Michigan State University classrooms where I spend my time during the school year. As a second-year credit intern with GreenStone, I am working on a peer comparison project focusing on the dairy industry. By looking at data used for this project, my team and I compare dairy operations of similar sizes and analyze why one may be thriving while the other may be struggling. This real-life experience with data analysis is incredibly valuable as I continue into my final year in school.
When the time came to apply for internships and the GreenStone name appeared during my search, I knew I had to apply. I had a base knowledge of what GreenStone provides, since my grandmother was on the board of directors for 20 years. I knew it was a financial association specifically dedicated to helping rural communities and agriculture; in fact, it was the only agricultural financial association I knew. It took my first summer interning, however, to realize the company offers much more. Even as an intern, I have responsibilities and opportunities allowing me to make an impact on the company, such as riding along on customer visits with financial services officers. GreenStone also offers its interns opportunities to job shadow employees outside of their department. This allows for a greater understanding of the company, as well as providing an opportunity for interns to reflect on what kind of full-time career is best for them. Reflection and growth opportunities such as these are invaluable in an internship setting and really are what set this internship program apart from others.
The friendly, dedicated and supportive team surrounding me daily motivate me to learn as much as possible while I am here. My family’s farm has been around for almost 100 years, and I want to be there to help it grow and succeed in the next 100 years. I believe my experiences here at GreenStone will help me do just that.
