Student Spotlight: Erica Bowles

Fresno State senior Erica Bowles might have found a new career path thanks to her internship this past summer for Elanco's animal health area.

Even though she wasn’t able to physically work in their office due to pandemic restrictions, she still worked remotely with the chief sustainability officer to examine sustainability trends in the beef industry. Locally, she gained key experience by taking part in sales visits by Elanco reps.

She plans on graduating in May 2021 & is interested in potentially combining her ag communications experience with a new interest in sales and marketing of animal pharmaceutical products.

Read more about this accomplished member of our Jordan College honors research cohort & livestock judging team in this recent interview.

 

Q: Give us a quick overview of your summer internship?

Bowles: "I worked for Elanco Animal Health on their Feedyard South team, although due to COVID-19, the internship turned completely virtual. I worked closely with their chief sustainability officer to examine  eef sustainability trends and how to add value to customers in new ways."

 

Q: What skills or experiences did you gain from the internship that they can apply to your potential career options?

Bowles: "Through this completely new way of doing this internship, I learned how to navigate working from home, staying on task, and achieving objective goals, even through obstacles. I understood how to build my network in a large corporation and really loved the culture created by its employees. I even got to go on a couple ride-alongs with local sales reps here in the Central Valley." 

 

Q: Talk us through internship hiring process.

Bowles: "I found out about the internship through an email sent out by our College's career services director (Imelda Dudley) last October. I attended an information night, got interviewed, and then was sent to Greenfield, Indiana for a big interview at their global headquarters. I was offered an intern position in December. I highly encourage students to pay attention to these emails that come through, and to take a leap of faith and apply for opportunities like this, because you never know what they're looking for."

 

Q: What types of clubs are you involved with on campus?

Bowles: "I am part of the livestock judging team at Fresno State, after. I transferred here after judging at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas where my team earned Team of the Year in 2019. I am also a part of the Jordan College Honors Cohort Program, as well as the Young Cattlemen's and Ag Ambassadors organizations."

 

Q: Do you directly work with any faculty on campus with research projects?

Bowles: "Currently, through the Jordan College honors cohort, I am working with Dr. Avery Culbertson on a project tied to critical thinking in livestock judging."

 

Q: Do you have any other jobs on campus?

Bowles: "I don't work on any farm units, but last semester, I was able to work as a communications student assistant for the Jordan College."

 

Q: What is your background in agriculture before you started at Fresno State?

Bowles: "My family doesn't directly have an ag background, but my grandpa was a veterinarian. I have been interested in ag for a long time, and began showing hogs in 4-H in 6th grade. I became very involved in FFA at Nipomo High School, where I competed in Creed, Impromptu, Job Interview, and Livestock Judging. My team was 2nd in the nation which landed us a trip to Scotland and Ireland, where we competed and went on several industry tours."

 

Q: Looking ahead, what's your potential next career steps?

Bowles: "I plan on graduating May, 2021. I am still not entirely sure what I'd like to do for a career, but this summer opened a new door to the sales/marketing sides of animal pharmaceuticals. I hope to somehow combine this with my passion for agricultural communications."