Olivia Reicks
Major in economics and supply chain management
Interned at Land O'Lakes Global Food Challenge Emerging Leader in Food Security Intern: Minneapolis, Africa, Washington DC and Nebraska – summer 2015
What tasks/accomplishments did you complete?
- Conducted research in Sub-Saharan Africa to reduce transportation costs for smallholder farmers
- Engaged with congress on food security issues and policy
- Awarded first place in the Food Distribution and Research Society Undergraduate Essay Competition
- Collaborated with nine other students across the country with diverse backgrounds ranging from anthropology, food science, engineering, marketing, journalism to find innovative solutions
- Raised awareness on food security http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2015/01/22/foodchallenge
What were your biggest takeaways from the internship?
Sustainable projects are focused on moving from a hand out, to a hand up, to a handshake.
Land O'Lakes International Transportation Intern: Minneapolis – summer 2016
What tasks/accomplishments did you complete?
- Designed value steam maps for international order processes
- Implemented excel macros to standardize document creation, reduce data entry, mitigate risk, unite teams
- Calculated time metric and financial savings
What were your biggest takeaways from the internship?
Company culture is truly important to thrive. I'm very thankful for the opportunities I've had to work with bright, intelligent people at Land O'Lakes who encourage change and new ideas. I've loved my time in the twin cities, joined the company softball league, and met lifetime friends in the intern program. I'm happy many of them are returning full-time as well.
Would you be interested in working for this company after graduation?
I will be returning to Land O'Lakes for a full-time supply chain rotational program, with the first year being in a Purina plant in Harrisburg, PA.