Name: Autumn Haan
How long have you worked for POET?
It’ll be four years in March 2024.
How did you first hear about POET?
I was born and raised here in Chancellor, South Dakota. So, I've known POET since I was in elementary school. My family has brought corn here for as long as I can remember. Back when it was Great Plains Ethanol, they sponsored our softball jerseys, so it was part of me growing up.
Can you tell me about the path that led you to your career?
I went to school at SDSU for Animal Science, and during my senior year, I took a student job working at an agricultural research lab. It showed me how much more fun it is working in a real-life setting compared to taking organic chemistry! My first job outside of college was for medical research, and I liked it, but I really wanted to get back into the agricultural industry.
What do you do in your position?
Quality control, certifying bioethanol, making sure that everything that we produce on the inside is safe, such as feed, because we make a bunch of different feed products. From the very beginning, we do a lot of data collection and testing to make sure that there aren't any infections, and if there are, trying to mitigate that and help it up.
What’s your favorite part about your job?
The variety there really is no typical day. Every day is a little different and every day you're doing something a little unique than the day before.
What is your greatest career accomplishment here at POET?
Taking advantage of all the opportunities that POET has. My boss has been really good about helping me, but I became PCQI certified, I’m on the safety committee, and taking some other roles to help with water testing.
Tell me about the dynamics with your team and your coworkers.
They’re very welcoming and inviting! You never really feel like an ordinary worker. I feel like I actually am someone. You can tell that you're cared for, and you don’t feel viewed as just an employee here.
What’s unique about a career at this company?
All the opportunities that you have there if you want them. There's really no one set way to do it. You get to choose your own path of how you want to go. If you're interested in a career and you say, “Hey, I'm interested in this,” they’ll take you under their wing and see if that's something that you want to pursue. There's no straight path.
Tell me a little bit about yourself: what hobbies do you enjoy outside of work?
My family has a small cow-calf operation, so I run cattle with my dad. I also play volleyball, and I'm a CASA volunteer. I also have a purebred Australian Shepherd that keeps me busy!
What’s one thing you want to do that you’ve never done before?
My goal is to visit every single national park! You can buy a passport and can get a stamp for each one. My favorite one so far would be White Sands, NM because it was so different than South Dakota! It’s also a newer one, too.
