John E. Brown Scholars Program

Keeping One's Ears Open

The John Brown Scholars Experience Gives Insight Into the Many Aspects of Business Relationships

Sam Scheulen, majoring in Agriculture Economics and Ag Systems Management and who will graduate in May 2008, expected that his week-long visit to T.C. Jacoby & Co, would give him business insight through job shadowing, interactions with employees and seeing how business is conducted.

His expectations were met and a little more. He toured the company's St. Louis-based facilities as well some of the companies who do business with them. This was a marvelous opportunity to see the impact of purchasing, corporate supplier networks, contracts and inventory control on a broad scale.

"I believe this gave me an even better understanding of the business flow and allowed me to see many sides of the business," he said.

In terms of his future career, the visit provided new information to consider. "I believe I could see myself in the line of a brokerage position at a company like T.C. Jacoby," he said. "I would like to be able to provide a benefit or assistance to people."

T.C. Jacoby & Co., based in St. Louis, is the United States' leading independent distributor of dairy products including raw milk, cream, powder, butter and cheese. It has been in business more than 50 years and markets dairy products in the contiguous U.S. and five continents.

With its global marketing strategy, Jacoby was a good place for a person like Scheulen to visit.

"I enjoy understanding the markets and how the population may react to certain changes in various things such as disease, government policy, weather, etc.," he said. "That is my reasoning for studying Ag Econ. I also find it interesting how the technical side of things works and hopefully have the ability to manage my own operation and the people involved in it someday."

The John Brown Scholar experience was able to give Scheulen added professional experience that will be helpful as he starts his career. "I believe it taught me that in order to be successful you have to be able to build a relationship with people and not just act like a car salesman pushing for the sale," he said.

Scheulen, a native from Loose Creek, Mo., will consider mentoring other students when he is well into his career. "I will advise them to be willing to learn even if it isn't something they are interested in at the beginning," he related. "Most of the time you will learn something even when you believe it is impossible. Keep your ears open."

John E. Brown Scholars Program

Keeping One's Ears Open

The John Brown Scholars Experience Gives Insight Into the Many Aspects of Business Relationships

Learn More