Current student, Annie de Castro, received a Career Center Internship Grant for her recent summer internship at Fresh Impact Farms. Annie shared the following about being a summer intern:
What did you do as an intern at this organization?
I worked alongside my coworkers and supported them in a full range of tasks on a weekly rotation schedule. For example, we delivered crops on Tuesdays and Fridays, which meant Mondays and Thursdays were primarily harvest days. Some of this harvesting spilled over to delivery days too, and the rest of the time on those days and Wednesdays were filled with miscellaneous tasks such as cleaning out troughs that carried plants to prevent mold, pipe clogging, algae growth, and pest breeding, and to promote plant growth. We also power washed trays and rafts that were used to hold the plants. I also learned tecniques such as transplanting and cloning plants to grow more of them, which was done either because demand for that crop increased, to test a new growing technique, or if our current plants developed an uncontrollable/costly pest issue. The space the farm used was two narrow stories in a strip mall, so we often had to problem-solve and shift plants around to spaces that allowed for easier harvesting, and for more space. Essentially, we were constantly developing the setup in order to maximize the limited space. Moving plants required new plumping, lighting, and watering schedules, which I worked on. I used pipes and nozzles to control water flow so that certain troughs would fill up faster than others when the pump was on. This allowed us to control how long certain crops were watered. I also learned about and used a spreadsheet to calculate nutrient levels needed before adding them into troughs. I measured pH and electrical conductivity (which indicated salt levels) in the troughs. Early on in my internship, I was given responsibilities such as checking circuit pumps in the troughs, which was necessary to prevent algae growth and ensured proper mixing of the water, as well as for caring for germination chambers. If circuit pumps did not work, I removed them, dried them off, took them apart to find the problem, and fixed them. For germination chambers, I removed trays of seedlings if they were sufficiently germinated to start receiving mature-plant watering, and sprayed the remaining trays with an organic, sanitizing spray to prevent mold from growing. I supported every task that is done at the farm and learned a lot about the system of hydroponics in doing so.
How did you find this internship?
I knew of hydroponics and did some google searching to find farms near my home for the summer, and then cold emailed.
What did you enjoy most about your internship?
I loved the hands-on experience. I realized how different of a perspective one can gain from physical work, especially in problem-solving. When I made mistakes, for example, there were tangible effects. Every step that I took, from pruning and deadheading plants to harvesting and seeding, led to visible outcomes. I love how I was given responsibilities that I performed daily, and was held accountable for performing those tasks properly. I also loved working in a small group of about 10 every day which allowed me to learn a lot about different career paths and backgrounds, and also allowed me to form closer personal connections.
What did you find challenging?
My internship experience was unlike anything I had done before, which was both challenging and rewarding. At times it was difficult because it was physically laborious, requiring me to lift buckets of water with nutrients mixed in and pour them into troughs. Other times it was mentally challenging because I was unfamiliar with that way of thinking when I could see the tangible results of my work. For example, I once harvested our pea microgreens too early. I was not careful to check the written dates on the trays and instead misjudged them for being full-grown. I did this to be independent with my given responsibilities, and not bother my manager with asking too many questions. As a result, we did not have enough peas to fulfill the demand for the week. In other words, I found it mentally challenging to accept and adapt to the fact that I could see immediate consequences to everything I did, right or wrong. It taught me to be careful and think about every step I took. At the same time, I needed to be efficient and know when to dedicate more time to perfecting certain responsibilities.
What advice would you offer to someone who wants to make the most of an internship like yours?
My advice would be to not get comfortable being uncertain. It is easy when doing manual labor to become a sort of robot and perform tasks as instructed. However, I got the most out of my role by asking questions. This also meant sometimes asking questions during lunch breaks, when we all sat together. Though I was tired on some days and wanted to use this time to unwind and use my phone, I challenged myself to continue learning, and ask questions.
