Young professionals learn and travel with CHS Inc

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• published: 19 Jul 2011
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C Magazine YOUR CHS CONNECTION July/August 2011 C People Learning Language and Lingo Last Thanksgiving, while many Americans gathered around tables laden with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie, Lauren Stromberger sat down to a simmering pot surrounded by meats and vegetables waiting to be cooked at a table in Shanghai. To the side lay a delicacy: a tray of barbecued silkworms. For Stromberger, the China trip was an opportunity to strengthen relationships with customers, spend time with the CHS grain merchandisers based in Shanghai and Hong Kong and learn more about China. Just over a year ago, as a junior at Washington State University, she dreamed of such an opportunity. A six-month immersion program studying Mandarin Chinese in Harbin, a city located 650 miles northeast of Beijing, encouraged her love of China, its culture and its language. When she returned to the university, she looked for an internship that would take her back to China. She found that opportunity as part of the energetic, fast-moving CHS team responsible for buying and selling soybeans. "The scope of the business is amazing," says Stromberger, who grew up on a small farm in eastern Washington. "It's constantly changing, based on what the market is doing. And to see the logistics behind buying soybeans, getting them loaded on a boat and shipped around the world is incredible." Stromberger's internship quickly segued into a trainee program, and today she provides a vital communication link with CHS customers in China. "There's a lot of industry jargon in markets. I had to learn that, plus how that translates into Mandarin Chinese," says Stromberger. She talks to Chinese customers each day, helping them price commodities on the Chicago Board of Trade and supporting logistics execution. "I work closely with the export group, watch the market differentials to understand our risk exposure and monitor vessels." She has to quickly adjust to different accents and dialects, based on customer locations in China. China's strong demand for soybeans continues, growing from just 20 percent of global bean exports 10 years ago to 60 percent today. "It's an exciting time to be a part of this," she says. One day Stromberger hopes to have a role in the CHS Shanghai office. Until then, she'll learn and travel, even when it means sampling barbecued silkworms. Read more at http://c.chsinc.com