by Suzanne Howard

     Renell Calloway began to focus on her college major while a junior in high school. Having grown up on a farm, she knew she wanted to do something in agriculture. She considered agricultural business or engineering but leaned more toward the business side. She also knew she wanted to go to Purdue University, since it was a large, strong agricultural college.

Renell Calloway works with Deere & Company every other semester in a co-op position.

     While in high school, Calloway did a “job shadow” at Brock Chore Time in Milford, Ind. From that experience, she decided a major in agricultural systems management (ASM) was the perfect choice for her. She has loved it ever since.
     “It provides diversity—some majors are so focused—this one is not,” she says. “I like the diversity, because I’m not a one-track-focus kind of person.”
     Calloway originally planned to graduate in three years, but her time frame was put on the back burner when an exciting opportunity came her way.
     As she was finishing her freshman year, her advisor, Dr. Mack Strickland, suggested she interview for an opportunity with Deere & Company as a co-op student. She did and was offered the job.
     She says she followed her mom’s advice about whether or not to accept the offer.
     “Don’t pass up an opportunity when it is too good to be true, “ her mom told her. Calloway says she has no regrets in following that advice.
     This special type of co-op position involves working with Deere every other semester. She currently works in the company’s marketing department in Augusta, Ga., where she started as a sophomore. She is provided a furnished apartment while she works there.
     “It’s now going to take me up to five years to graduate,” Calloway says, “but I’m enjoying the experience, taking it one step at a time.”
     Unlike an internship, which is a one time experience, a co-op arrangement continues the relationship with a company.
     “It’s like being on a six-month leave of absence and then coming back,” she says. “I work on different projects each time I return. When I left, I had been working on photo shoots and pamphlets. Now I’m introducing new products and organizing meetings, which I really enjoy.”
     “I didn’t realize how much the experience of being a co-op student would change me as a person,” she says. “I become so acclimated to dealing with people older and more mature than me, that I find myself being on their level instead of being a college student without a care in the world.”
     Currently a junior, Calloway now says she enjoys being in the business/ corporate world more than being in the college world. She says her experience with Deere & Company has been a wonderful opportunity.
     “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime to be with a great company, travel, meet new people, gain experience,” she says. “It’s made me a better person.”
     “There is always room to grow as a person and with your skills,” she adds. “I’ve learned so much here that I could never learn at college; it taught me a lot.”
     Calloway is also used to being part of a male-dominated field. She was one of only three girls who participated in Future Farmers of America in high school. It never dawned on her that the ASM major would be mostly men. In her first week of classes, she says she wondered where all the girls were. She is currently the only woman in the ASM program of approximately 130 students at Purdue.
     “I wasn’t concerned at first, but then I wondered if I would be accepted or would feel like an outsider,” she says. “I’ve had no problems whatsoever. The guys are like brothers; they look out for me and we hang out together. But they also expect me to do my part in class.”
     She is concerned that the lack of women in the major could intimidate other women from pursuing a career in ASM. But she feels that it shouldn’t make someone shy away from something they truly love.
     Calloway would like to someday be involved in making an impact on agriculture, a goal that seems quite attainable given her strong love of the field.
     What is her advice for someone thinking about pursuing a major in agricultural systems management? “Go for it! The major offers so much and such diversity. When you graduate, there is so much you can do. I’d suggest it to anyone.”