From January 5-9, Premier Select Sires hosted Emmalin Pringle, Jordan Olson, and Megan Zipprich as this year’s Penn State Externs! The week before they had to head back to campus from winter break, these three students shadowed several employees of Premier to gain insights into different parts of the cooperative and how it operates. In addition to many ride-alongs with the field staff, they also had the opportunity to travel to Tunkhannock, PA to tour the office and lab.
Premier extends a sincere thank you to these students for taking time out of their winter break to visit us and learn about our team’s work. We would also like to thank all of the staff and member customers who helped to provide an educational and fun experience for Emmalin, Jordan, and Megan. Read on to learn about these students!
Emmalin Pringle
Hometown: Bellefonte, PA
Year in college: Junior
Major: Animal Science
Activities: Dairy cattle showing, FFA
Experience: Job Coach at State College Area School District, Employee at
Tractor Supply Company, farm help at Breezy Farms in Pennsylvania Furnace
PA, attendant at Mountain View Country Club
Future plans: “I am exploring opportunities. So far I love what we’ve gotten to
experience here. I want to do something that is hands on with the animals and
building relationships with farmers.”
Takeaways or highlights from the externship: “I greatly enjoyed the opportunity
to participate in the Premier Externship! I learned about the services and products
Premier offers its customers. One of my favorite aspects of the experience was
witnessing the relationships between Premier employees and farmers. At many of
our stops, farmers were very excited to share with us the progress of their herds
and to catch up with their Premier representative.”
Jordan Olson
Hometown: Stoneboro, PA
Year in college: Sophomore
Major: Animal Science, with Smeal Business Certificate
Activities: Collegiate Cattlewomen Club (Cattle School Chair), Block and Bridal
Club (Ag Student Council Rep), Dairy Science Club, PSU Line Dancing Club,
Great Stoneboro Fair’s Jr. Fair Board (President), 4-H State Council (2024 President)
Experience: PSU Swine Research Center employee, Stenhouse Research Lab
volunteer, Craigs County Comfort Bakery employee, Olson Dairy farm employee
Future plans: “I would like to pursue a career in food animal medicine, and
become a veterinarian.”
Takeaways or highlights from the externship: “I had a great experience during
my externship with Premier, especially the day I spent learning about the
company’s Select Mating Service®. I had no idea that this type of work even
existed as a career path and seeing it firsthand was genuinely eye opening. The
experience not only taught me something completely new but also introduced me
to a career field I’m now excited to explore further.”
Megan Zipprich
Hometown: Hop Bottom, PA
Year in college: Senior
Major: Animal Science, with minors in Biology and Livestock Production
Activities: Block and Bridal Club (Vice President, Service Chair, Scrapbook
Chair), Collegiate Cattlewomen (Treasurer), PSU Livestock judging team, Penn
State Coaly Society, American Society of Animal Science
Experience: Vet Tech at Endless Mountains Veterinary Center, Technical Lab
Assistant at Harvatine Dairy Nutrition Lab, Vet Assistant at Wallenpaupack
Veterinary Clinic, Pharmacy Technician at Lenox Pharmacy.
Future plans: “I want to pursue a career in food animal medicine.”
Takeaways or highlights from the externship: “My externship with Premier
Select Sires gave me a deeper appreciation for the support and expertise Premier
employees provide to their customers. I especially enjoyed learning about the
Select Mating Service® and how it helps producers improve herd genetics through
hands-on cattle evaluation and genomic analysis. The positive and collaborative
company culture was also refreshing and made the experience especially
enjoyable.”
