July 28, 2025

COUNTRY Financial® and Illinois Farm Bureau Summer Interns Acquire Hands-on Experience

A group of 70 college interns spent their summer accruing valuable knowledge, sharpening skills and gaining hands-on experience.

“Our internship program provides talented professionals a world-class, hands-on experience,” said Director of Talent Management Kristin Adams. “We’re grateful for the new ideas and the fresh perspective they contributed. I’m excited to see what they accomplish next in their careers.”

COUNTRY and Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) interns gained a wealth of knowledge by participating in: 

• Development opportunities to build their business acumen
• Mentoring and networking events
• Collaborative business and technical project opportunities
• Meetings with leaders
• COUNTRY Hackathon (DigitaLab interns)
• ART and PI Planning (DigitaLab interns) 

What I learned…

“This internship has been an incredibly unique and meaningful experience, not just because of the projects, but because of the people. I had the opportunity to collaborate closely with interns, sponsors, and fellow project managers, helping teams stay organized, aligned, and on track. From managing timelines and facilitating communication, I gained real-world experience in agile project delivery and cross-functional teamwork. This role pushed me to grow as both a leader and a collaborator, and I’m incredibly grateful to COUNTRY for creating an environment where interns are trusted to take ownership and make an impact.”

- Ashutosh Mishra, DigitaLab Intern

“This summer internship has provided me with a valuable platform to make a real-world impact. I’ve developed skills in test automation using Python and SQL scripting, worked with API services for CI/CD pipelines, and contributed to day-to-day operational tasks in Agile Release Trains handling repair and validation tasks for databases. The responsibilities and opportunities given to us have been instrumental in our overall development and in preparing us to face the industry. I am so grateful to be interning at COUNTRY, where we are real changemakers!”

-Irith Chaturvedi, DigitaLab Intern

“I’m so grateful COUNTRY took a chance on me and gave me the opportunity to intern this summer. This experience has allowed me to apply what I’ve learned in the classroom to real-life work that makes an impact, pushing me to grow both professionally and personally. My work has included updating the website, supporting social media efforts, creating newsletters, optimizing content, applying SEO strategies, analyzing data, and learning new software tools that will make me a more competitive candidate. One of the best parts has been having an amazing mentor and access to valuable support throughout the experience. It’s clear COUNTRY invests in their interns, and I’ve truly felt like part of the team.”

-Isabel Crabtree, COUNTRY Digital Marketing Intern

“The summer intern program has been a hugely impactful experience. The people I have worked with at COUNTRY have been so supportive and encouraging, actively seeking out opportunities for me to learn new skills and technologies, providing me with the opportunity to build connections and collaborate throughout the company, and empowering me to take on new responsibilities and leadership roles within projects. I’ve learned so much about the instructional design process and gained valuable experience designing and implementing my own trainings. I feel so much more prepared to take on an industry role in the future. I am so grateful to COUNTRY for providing me with this experience to learn and grow!”

-Megan Epperson, COUNTRY Instructional Design Intern 

Media contact

news@countryfinancial.com