John Deere Intern Newsletter
In this issue:
Did you Know?
JD Inspire/STEM Initiative
Professional Organization: SWE
Networking Events
Rising Star
John Deere Around Town
Did you know?
John Deere first published The Furrow, a magazine for farmers, in 1895. Today, it’s published in 12 languages,
distributed in more than 40 countries, and is one of the oldest agricultural magazines in the world.
September 2012
JD Inspire/Stem
John Deere Leaders Affirm Support for
Iowa STEM Initiative
Sept. 10 - John Deere officials reiterated the company’s support
for the Iowa Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
initiative at a meeting with the program’s leaders last month.
“As one of the largest employers in Iowa, we will continue to be
a strong partner in supporting the Iowa STEM initiative through
John Deere Inspire,” said Pat Barnes, John Deere Inspire program
director.
John Deere Inspire is the company’s global STEM initiative.
At the meeting, Iowa STEM leaders Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and
University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen, STEM Executive
Director Jeff Weld, Deere Chairman and CEO Sam Allen, Stacey
Johnson, director of public affairs for John Deere Financial, Beverly
Heird-Flores, manager of Iowa public affairs, and Barnes discussed
ways the company could support the initiative.
Intern STEM Panel
John Deere interns majoring in STEM fields (Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math) had the opportunity to explain the
application of math in business and answer questions in an open
forum.
“My calculus and physics teachers inspired me to go into
engineering. They are great at what they taught and got us excited
about the material and inspired us to explore more,” said Quinn
Burke Anderson, Manufacturing Engineering.
Between 25 and 50 Illinois middle and high school math
teachers attended the event hosted by Pat Barnes, John Deere Inspire program director. In addition to the luncheons, the teachers
visited several John Deere factory and office locations in the
Quad Cities.
Below: Quinn Burke Anderson and Alison Bergman present to Illinois Math
teachers as part of the JD Inspire initiative.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad launched the initiative by creating the
Iowa STEM Advisory Council in July 2011, naming representatives
of government, education, non-profit organizations, and industry
to council seats. Barnes represents John Deere on the council.
The initiative now has six regional organizations and a dozen STEM
programs around the state. Jim Brown, an engineer at John Deere
Power Systems, is a member of the Northeast Region advisory
board and Barnes and Tim Bower, senior engineer at PDC, are
members of the Southeast Region advisory board.
STEM is an initiative designed to increase student literacy in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Among John Deere activities supporting STEM in 2012, the
company hosted nine teachers through the Real World Teacher
Externship program in which teachers work for six weeks in
industry; co-sponsored with Rockwell Collins and Pella Corporation
a lunch for Iowa STEM Day at the state Capitol; sponsored the
Moms Night Out for STEM event at 25 locations throughout Iowa;
and co-sponsored an Iowa STEM summit in Des Moines.
In other actions supporting math and science education, the
company worked with 100 teachers in Illinois as a partner on three
math improvement grants.
Pictured from left are Beverly Heird-Flores, Ben Allen, Sam Allen, Lt. Governor Kim
Reynolds, Jeff Weld, and Pat Barnes.
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September 2012
Society of Women Engineers
Involvement in the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) led
Mechanical Engineering intern Alison Bergmann from Valparaiso
University to two internships with John Deere; Internal PlatformProduct Design at John Deere Cylinder and Sheet Metal
Manufacturing at John Deere Harvester.
Three years of involvement in SWE has led to volunteer and
leadership activities outside of work and school. As the current
President of SWE at Valparaiso University, her responsibilities
include leading meetings, participating in conference calls with
other SWE collegiate section presidents in Region H (which
includes seven states) organizing all Valparaiso University SWE
events, and attending the National SWE Convention and the
Region H SWE Convention. Prior to Alison’s two terms as SWE
President, she served as Treasurer and Vice President.
How did you become involved with the organization?
I joined SWE my freshman year to network with fellow collegiate
members as well as professional members. I also wanted to help
introduce young girls to engineering.
How has the organization helped you meet your academic and
career goals?
SWE has a lot of professional development events at the section,
region, and national levels. Mark Wilson, a Dale Carnegie
representative, presented a workshop on how to be successful
at career fairs. Our Region Collegiate Coach spoke about the
transition from college to career. At the regional and national
conventions, I learned about a range of topics, including
work/life balance and when to go to graduate school. The
national and regional conferences also have excellent career fairs.
In fact, I got my first internship with John Deere at the 2010 SWE
National Convention.
Do you have any recommendations for prospective members?
Join NOW! SWE is a great way to network with fellow collegiate
members as well as professional members. You will meet people
from all over the country and have the opportunity to participate in
the country’s best engineering career fair.
How has your membership helped prepare you for your internship
at John Deere?
SWE provided opportunities to organize and plan events, network
with professional engineers, and to expand my leadership skills.
For more information about SWE, visit www.swe.org/.
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Memorable SWE Volunteer Activities
Girl Scout Day
We hosted approximately twenty-five Girl Scouts for an afternoon
of activities (computer programming, CAD, and bridge building),
along with a tour of the Scientific Visualization Lab. These
activities represent the four engineering majors at our university:
Electrical, Computer, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering.
Girl Scout Talk
To celebrate the Girl Scout’s 100th anniversary, two-hundred Girl
Scouts participated in the John Hancock Girl Scout Sleepover, held
on the 96th floor Observation Deck of the John Hancock Building
in Chicago.
Discoveries Unlimited
Discoveries Unlimited is a STEM mentoring program targeting
girls in 6th to 8th grade in the Valparaiso area. The mentor
and mentee pairs design and build roller coasters out of pipe,
insulation, tubing, and duct tape. The designs are presented to
the other groups. Through Time Engineers, we introduced the
girls to diverse engineering fields; mechanical, civil, electrical,
and computer. Time Engineers is a computer program created
by professors at Valparaiso University to introduce students to
the fundamental principles of engineering. Simulations include:
Ancient Egypt - experimenting with ramps, workers, and the
type of stone in order to build the most cost effective pyramids;
World War II - designing a submarine; Middle Ages - designing a
drawbridge and a catapult. In addition to simulations, the girls
learn binary numbers, Boolean logic, weirs and water flow, force
balance, and trajectory.
Friends in Engineering
Friends in Engineering is an elementary school outreach program.
The FIE program matches children of the Valparaiso University
faculty and staff with current SWE members. The mentors and
mentees meet together as a group one to two times per month
during the school year. One task the mentees were given was
to make a base for a book tower out of six note cards and six
paperclips. The girls were very surprised to see that some designs
could actually support twenty to thirty textbooks.
SWEsters
SWEsters matches incoming freshmen with upperclassmen based
on common interests and indicated major. The mentors and
mentees are required to meet at least twice a month, whether
it is for lunch or to go to a basketball game. This program is
instrumental in furthering leadership qualities as all of the
mentors in this program encourage their mentees to remain in
the program and to develop a welcoming community within the
College of Engineering.
September 2012
Networking Events
Eggs with a Side of Advice
Horicon interns and development program employees
had the opportunity to meet with the Horicon
leadership team for an Intern/Leadership breakfast.
During breakfast, they were given a chance to ask
the leadership team questions. The leadership team
discussed their experiences with John Deere and
their various paths to how they got where they are
today. The lesson of the day was flexibility. The
managers agreed that John Deere can provide all the
opportunities in the world, but the individual has to
take advantage of those opportunities to grow both personally and within the organization.
Crossing Barriers
Quad City interns participated in a team building activity 10 July at World Headquarters designed to simulate the
complexities of working on a team. Michael DeJaegher, Accounting/Finance, recapped the event:
The intern team building activity held in East Office Building cafeteria on 10 July provided an excellent opportunity
for interns to learn and experience the many complexities of working on a team.
The first activity centered on diversity and inclusion and required each intern to inquire about the background of
other interns to learn unique facts about each individual. These activities allowed us to network among our fellow
interns and learn about the varied backgrounds present within a global company such as John Deere.
The second activity required a team of interns to build the tallest tower using spaghetti, marshmallows, and
various other products. This required teamwork, coordination and planning. There were several wrinkles thrown
in throughout as several team members were given obstacles, such as forcing them to telecommute, act as though
English is not their first language, or move to a different team and initially question the strategy before becoming a
fully integrated member of the team. These obstacles required effective communication and teamwork to achieve
the final goal.
The event concluded with a review of each strategy and methods used. Intern teams discussed their approaches
and were provided several John Deere specific examples. This event afforded Quad City interns an opportunity to
network, learn interesting facts about each other, and develop teamwork skills which will be beneficial both now
and in our future careers. Not only was this an excellent learning opportunity, but a fun time was had by all!
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September 2012
Rising Star - Katie Roesler
This month’s rising star, Katie Roesler, summarizes her experiences as a John Deere intern. Katie
completed three Engineering Development Program (EDP) assignments prior to her current position as a
Manufacturing Engineer at Harvester Works.
Education
North Dakota State University
Bachelor’s Degree: Industrial Engineering and Management
What were your internship sessions like? Where did you work and what were your assignments?
I was a Manufacturing Engineering Intern at Drivetrain Operations in Waterloo, Iowa. I assisted with
workstation design projects and helped to identify needs for an RFID tracking system on the transmissions.
I was part of a cross-functional team that included OFP and PDP engineers. I got to meet a lot of great
interns that summer.
How did you know John Deere was the place for you?
I grew up on a farm in North Dakota and was very familiar with John Deere products. I saw Deere at a career fair my freshman year of
college and knew I wanted to work for them someday. Even though I live 700 miles from our family farm, I don’t feel so far away because
I’m working on products that affect our way of life. Knowing that I help farming communities all over the world makes the job worthwhile.
What other activities to you participate in at John Deere and in the community?
I have coached YMCA girls’ basketball, participate in John Deere sports leagues, and Quad Cities Area NEON (New and Experienced
Organizational Network).
Can you elaborate on your development program?
It was a very smooth transition from being an EDP to full-time employee. Even as an intern, I felt like a full-time employee. I had the chance
to learn about many product lines and see a lot of the company in a short period of time. I made some great contacts during my first year at
John Deere. I really liked how the program was catered to the individual; there is not one set in stone guide that you have to follow. You can
make it what you want. Some people say that it is too short, but I think the length for me was just right. After having 3 different positions
in 1 year I was ready for some stability.
Crop Care DTAC (Dealer Technical Assistance Center) at Seeding Group, Moline: (Marketing Rotation) Worked on cases submitted by
Dealers to help get customers up and running and eliminate downtime as much as possible. I learned a lot about the customer support
process and how we relay that information to the manufacturing floor to improve the product for the customer. I learned how vital
DTAC is to the dealerships during the planting season.
JD QPS Team at World Headquarters, Moline (Quality Engineering Rotation): Attended mid-term assessments for John Deere Electronic Solutions locations and learned about the JD QPS Certification process within John Deere. I made a lot of great contacts that have
worked for John Deere at locations all across the world. I learned about the vital metrics within Deere and how they drive our business.
This was a great rotation to have before moving into an OFP Manufacturing role as I deal with metrics on a daily basis and gained a
greater understanding of the metrics and their impact.
OFP Manufacturing Engineer at Harvester Works, East Moline: Projects included: rebalancing splits for operators, ordering tooling,
and creating OMSs (Operator Method Sheets). My last rotation led to me to my first permanent position!
What advice do you have to give to the current intern class?
Make the most with what you are given. Don’t wait for the perfect job to find you, go out and find it. It may take a few trial and errors
before you find the right fit for you, but if you work hard it will come.
Set up networking one-on-one’s, go out and look for advice/support. Concentrate on communication skills and remember sometimes it’s
best to pick up the phone and call a coworker to get something done - don’t rely too heavily on emails. Remember to use certain situations
as learning experiences- No one is perfect.
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September 2012
John Deere Around Town
Deere Listed Among ‘Most-Innovative Users’ of Technology
Sept. 14 - An information technology magazine has ranked John Deere No. 2 on a list of the 500 most innovative
users of business technology.
InformationWeek magazine recognized John Deere’s Service Advisor Remote software, which uses the company’s
JDLink wireless communications system for remote machine monitoring.
“The software was a 2-year collaborative effort across Global IT, Customer and Product Support, ISG, and platform
teams,” said Pat Webber, vice president, Global IT. “It’s an excellent example of the power of the integrated
enterprise.”
InformationWeek, a unit of UBM TechWeb, San Francisco, California, ranked the top 250 of the 500 U.S.-based
companies it included in its listing. The magazine released the list Tuesday during its annual InformationWeek 500
Conference.
Information Week article on John Deere
Information Week 500 2012 homepage
University of Iowa Students Attend John Deere Day
Sept. 13 - About 3,000 University of Iowa students recently learned
about John Deere through the John Deere Day program. This was the
first John Deere Day event for the Iowa City, Iowa, school.
The event highlighted career opportunities in a variety of professions
at John Deere, and focused on engineering and public health.
Activities for students included product simulators and other
hands-on activities, networking opportunities, and speeches from
Brian Rauch, Vice President, Engineering, C&F Division, and Laurie
Zelnio, Director, Environmental, Energy, and Product Sustainability
and John Deere’s executive liaison for the University of Iowa.
“The event was a huge success for the students,” said Fred Streicher,
director of marketing and communications, University of Iowa College
of Engineering, to the John Deere team at the event. “John Deere Day
events showed exactly how deep and how broad the partnership is
between John Deere and the University of Iowa”
The University of Iowa mascot sits on one of several pieces of John Deere
equipment on display at the school's first John Deere Day.
In addition to John Deere Day, the company sponsored welcome events for engineering and public health students and a college-wide
seminar themed “Grabbing the Globe,” hosted by Rauch.
John Deere Days are held annually at colleges around the United States including, Purdue University in Indiana, the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, and North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, Greensboro, North Carolina.
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September 2012