2021 SUMMER INTERNS: Daniel Cantu

My name is DANIEL CANTU, and I am a marketing and communications intern here at the Aurora office. I am a senior at Concordia University in Seward, where I am studying business marketing and a member of the Bulldog football team. I will graduate this December of 2021.

Although I have only been working for Aurora for a few weeks, I have already learned so much and have been given the chance to take my previous knowledge and skill set and expand upon that in ways that I had not previously thought possible.

I am a firm believer that in order to properly market something to your audience, you must have a strong understanding and passion for your products or services. Growing up in a farming family, the passion was there, but being from Southeast Texas and surrounded by rice fields, I was excited when given the opportunity to get out into the fields with Reed Stone, Jon Stofer and Brandon Hamer on various occasions, among others, to learn more about the growth stages of corn and soybeans and the products available for application depending on various needs.

While in the office, I have been working on a few different projects during the summer. On the Prairie Valley side, I have worked directly with Sam Larsen to put together a grower experience campaign, where we are looking to find ways to communicate and serve our Prairie Valley growers in the best ways possible, looking at maximizing the customer’s experience and building lasting relationships.

I am also launching a digital marketing campaign after putting together industry behavior reports and finding important insights that will help us to market Aurora Cooperative and Prairie Valley in the most efficient ways. Although I am part of a younger, more tech-savvy generation, I am still learning about how much can truly be done in the digital world, and I am excited to test out a few new ways to build our brand awareness and generate new leads.

My main goal for this summer was to learn as much as I could and develop myself within the co-op, making myself as useful as I can be. While sometimes it is a hard thing for me to accept, I have realized that I do not have to know everything, and there are many, many people that are willing and able to answer questions and assist me when I have questions. This summer is off to a great start, and I am excited to further dive into these campaigns and continue to get out into the fields.