Each year, Agriculture Financial Services (AFSC) opens its doors to enthusiastic students who bring fresh energy and ideas to a wide range of roles across the organization. These students learn first-hand about AFSC, the agriculture industry, and the wide variety of jobs available in our industry.
This year, 21 summer students joined AFSC, taking on roles in Client Services, Insurance, Digital Services, Lending and more. We asked four summer students to reflect on their time at AFSC.
Here’s what they had to say.
Isabelle Ho,
People Services summer student
Coming into this summer job, my main expectation was to work hard and successfully complete my final work term for my degree. I was most nervous about meeting new people and stepping into a new environment, but those nerves quickly faded thanks to the warm welcome I received.
One of the highlights of my summer was contributing to the Summer Student Mentorship Project. It was incredibly rewarding to collaborate with fellow students on something I’m passionate about—supporting future leaders and building meaningful connections.
Throughout the summer, I picked up several new skills, including working with AFSC’s human resources information system, which will be valuable for my future in HR. I also discovered that my Excel skills are stronger than I thought, and I genuinely enjoy the day-to-day work in HR. This experience even sparked a new interest in exploring payroll opportunities as part of my career path.
Working with my team at AFSC was a fantastic experience. They were supportive, generous with their knowledge, and always aligned learning opportunities with my interests. I felt truly included, especially when they took the time to teach me about agriculture, a field I knew little about before joining. Thanks to them, I can now confidently name three breeds of cattle!
One of my proudest moments was helping with notification letters to AFSC team members. It felt great to contribute to something that impacts the entire organization and to know my work made a difference.
To next year’s summer students, my advice is simple: be open to learning and take every opportunity to help out. There’s a wealth of knowledge at AFSC, and everyone is happy to share it. You’ll grow more than you expect—professionally and personally.
Brogan Barnes,
Finance summer student
I expected there to be a steep learning curve when I started my summer job at AFSC, as I only had a little experience from one other short-term job. I had no idea what to expect coming in to a summer student position; however, I found that the people were nice and worked with me so I could understand exactly what I was doing. I was excited to be able to help the agriculture industry in Alberta in whatever capacity I could, as we all rely on farmers every day. Being able to help them in their finances seemed like a good way to give back in a small way.
I learned numerous new skills throughout the summer, but what I found most useful were the communication skills I had to learn. I regularly had to send messages to my team members as well as AFSC’s lending relationship managers, which allowed me to become more proficient at professional communication while still including as many details as possible. Another skill I found myself using was reading cash flows and understanding amortization better to allow me to spot errors quicker and have them corrected efficiently.
I discovered that my strength lies in my focus on small details, and my ability to learn new things quickly. However, I found that I would be more interested in a client facing role as I found myself wanting to interact with more people and learn more directly about what challenges our producers face. This experience has influenced me to focus more on developing my plans towards working with clients and helping directly instead of working in a back office to provide support for front-facing team members.
I felt supported to do my best work as I always had a team member who understood what they were doing when I didn’t understand something, and it helped me feel more included in the lending receivables team as I joined in on the meetings we had where I was able to voice my concerns if I needed to.
My proudest moment this summer was helping with the Moisture Deficiency Insurance claim payment in July allowing it to be finished a day earlier than expected.
My advice to next year’s summer students is that they should ask as many questions as possible and try to learn as much as possible. This is a great learning opportunity, and they should try to get the most out of it. No matter what you think could go wrong it doesn’t hurt to ask, and every person I’ve met at AFSC has been kind and always willing to answer my questions.
Anika Medema,
Lending summer student
My name is Anika Medema, and I am a lending summer student based out of the Lethbridge branch. Coming into this role, my expectations mainly included being able to build a stronger understanding of agriculture finance and gain insight into how Alberta’s agriculture industry is supported by AFSC from a financial perspective. I looked forward to learning more about the lending processes and the loan programs offered to producers. I was also hoping to gain valuable experiences that will benefit me in my future career in ag, including developing essential skills such as teamwork, communication, and critical thinking.
When I first started back in May, I was most excited to become more involved in the agriculture industry, as well as learn new skills and apply my education in real life situations. I was also looking forward to meeting new people, making connections across the province, and exploring career options. However, starting this role was also nerve wracking because this role was far different from what I was used to, as my previous summer jobs were mainly on the production side.
A typical day for me included helping the lenders/lending associates with tasks, such as periodic reviews, spreads, comparable sales, FAPs, renewal notices, etc. I also had meetings twice a week where we would take time to work on our summer student project. We often had team coffee breaks, which really helped me connect with everyone in my branch as well. The tasks that I enjoyed the most would probably include looking at and inputting financial statements as well as analyzing documents. I was able to learn lots this summer, not only about lending, but also about other programs that AFSC offers. I enjoy working in agriculture and I am certain that I will stay in this industry as my career progresses.
I also really enjoyed working and getting to know the south lending team, as well as everyone in the Lethbridge branch. They were very helpful, would always lend a hand, and made sure I felt included and part of the team from my first day. I enjoyed getting to know everyone and they have made a positive impact on my experience here at AFSC. My proudest moment would not just be one specific moment, but the progress I have made throughout the summer.
My advice for future summer students would be don’t be afraid to ask questions. Everyone is supportive and willing to help you learn. Take initiative if there is something specific you would like to learn about. And lastly, and most importantly, take the time to get to know your team and the people you are working with. Building these relationships makes the job more enjoyable and helps you feel part of the team.
Tharushi Hewaarachchi,
Digital Services summer student
Coming into my summer job with AFSC, I was most excited about getting hands-on experience with real IT systems and helping staff directly. I looked forward to troubleshooting issues and seeing the immediate impact of my work. At the same time, I was a bit nervous about dealing with unfamiliar problems or higher-pressure situations when someone’s work was impacted and they’re waiting for a solution.
On a typical day, I check the ticket queue for requests I can take on, respond to chats and answer phone calls from staff. I also worked on onboarding and offboarding tasks, making sure new staff were set up on their equipment and accesses, and departing employees were properly offboarded. In addition, I also helped with smaller side projects assigned to me by my team and worked on the summer student group project. This gave me a nice mix of routine support work as well as opportunities to take on more technical or collaborative tasks.
I enjoyed researching and solving different technical issues. There was always something new to work on and learn. Seeing the immediate results of my work was especially rewarding and the staff I helped often passed on kind words about the support I provided, so that was very much appreciated.
One big difference I noticed compared to my university projects and courses is that in that environment, I had a lot more time to dive deep into technical problems and explore different solutions. In the Service Desk role, I had to troubleshoot quickly, often on the spot, manage multiple issues at once and find a practical solution on a timely basis. This really taught me how to balance technical accuracy with efficiency.
Working in a Service Desk role definitely improved my communication skills and my ability to break down technical problems for a non-technical audience. I also appreciated the chance to combine technical problem-solving with direct impact, which is harder to come by so often in other environments.
During my time at AFSC, I have realized that I enjoy the aspect of technical problem-solving combined with helping people directly and immediately. I will prioritize that aspect more when searching for engineering-related opportunities now, more so that I would have prior to taking on this role.
Working with my team was a positive and motivating experience. Everyone was approachable and willing to help whether it was answering quick questions or spending large amounts of time on calls to walk me through new tasks or troubleshooting issues. My supervisor held regular one on ones, which were great for support and guidance and the team always encouraged learning and curiosity even if it strayed a bit from our routine designated tasks. There were also opportunities like “day in the life” meetings to explore different career paths from both technical and non-technical staff which I found very educational and enjoyable. I was in a great position to grow both technically and professionally.
My proudest moments this summer were troubleshooting technical issues, especially the more out of the box and uncommon challenges. It made the work interesting, and it was great to get the occasional unexpected recognition from those I helped. I was also proud of balancing my regular work with working on and delivering our summer student presentation.
My advice to next year’s summer students is take advantage of all learning opportunities and don’t be afraid to ask questions. My supervisors, team and even team members in other areas at AFSC were always accessible and amenable to providing support and guidance. I found being curious and proactive about learning things both within and outside my role made me stronger and more confident in the ability to do my job and made the overall experience more rewarding.
