Welcome New Summer Interns

Great news at IL Corn, we have two new interns that have swung into action. This duo has already started pitching in to some priorities at IL Corn. Here's a little bit about Breanne Gullidge and Shae Ruppert.

Meet Breanne

Breanne grew up on a small grain and cattle farm in Louisville, IL. In May of 2022 she graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign after studying Agriculture Consumer Economics with a concentration in Public Policy and Law. This summer she is studying for the LSAT and plans to attend law school in August 2023.

Her career goals are to focus on agriculture law and advocating for farmers. These career goals are what lead her to seek out a position at IL Corn to gain a better understanding of the Association’s legislative priorities and how they advocate for farmers. "Farmers have a lot on their plate as technology changes and population rises so I am excited to help and learn about how IL Corn partners with our legislators to help agriculture," says Breanne.

In Breanne’s free time she enjoys spending time with her family and trying new restaurants (she is new to the Bloomington-Normal area this summer).

Meet Shae

Shae is from Heyworth, IL and currently working towards a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural and Consumer Economics with a concentration in Agribusiness Markets and Management at the University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign. She is also pursuing a minor in crop science and will be graduating in May of 2023. Post-graduation Shae hopes to obtain her master’s degree at the University of Illinois and eventually work in the ag field doing something related to sustainability and conservation.

Her interest in conservation and is what originally drove her to want to be a part of IL Corn this summer as she knew that educating the public and informing policy makers on these topics was something this organization values. "I value the work that IL Corn takes part in to help make farmers’ and the agriculture industry’s voices heard," says Shae.

In her spare time, Shae enjoys playing basketball, spending time with family and friends, being outside, as well as playing the piano. She’s happy to be here and learn more about what IL Corn does and its impact.

Both of our interns will partner on Ag in the Classroom training sessions, communication special projects, legislative tasks and advocacy efforts. We look forward to teaching them all about IL Corn and watching them bring their own spin on corn.