Written By Lexi Troyer
Molly McGuire, an upcoming sophomore at Ohio State ATI, is spending her summer interning at Brookside Laboratories in New Bremen, Ohio, to learn more about what her agronomy major entails. Molly chose this internship to gain experience with the laboratory side of agronomy. She says, “Last summer I interned with an agronomist doing a lot of soil sampling. I wanted to gain experience and see the different perspective of what happens after the soil sample is taken.”
A typical day for Molly starts with arriving at Brookside Laboratories around 7a.m. She then finds the lab manager to get her tasks for the day. Molly notes, “I work a lot in production, which means grinding and organizing soil samples. I also work in our filter room, cleaning the many filters that soil samples go through. I also will unpack lawn samples.” Molly recognizes one of the most interesting things she has learned thus far in her internship is how a sample is processed. She states, “It’s interesting to take a giant bag of soil and then only need about a quarter size of the sample for filtering and processing.”
When asked how this internship experience has shaped her perspective on the industry she is interested in, Molly shares, “This internship has really made me realize how big the network is surrounding Brookside Laboratories.” Molly then talks about certain consultants she has known since a young age, getting samples at Brookside Labs from overseas, and remarking that so many people know about Brookside Labs—that it is more than just a lab in New Bremen, Ohio.
Looking ahead, Molly is eager to get through the busy season of May—June with her team. She says, “Everyone is sending in their spring soil samples during this time. I look forward to watching how my managers handle this busy season and learning from them.”