Rural Student Spotlight Program: Interns Support Local Entrepreneurs – Jeeyoung Jang & Simply Humic

When education and industry collide, the spark doesn't just light up a classroom—it ignites local economies.

Launched as a visionary collaboration in early 2026, the Rural Student Spotlight Program set out with a distinct, ambitious mission: connect eager post-secondary students with rural businesses across Central Alberta to tackle the modern hurdles of innovation, commercialization, and technology adoption.

What began as a targeted pilot quickly became a powerful, living example of what happens when regional talent is given the space to lead. Managed through a partnership between the Central Alberta Regional Innovation Network (CARIN) and Technology Alberta, the program designed a brilliant win-win framework. By matching 12 students from Red Deer Polytechnic and Olds College with 12 rural businesses, the initiative provided up to 100 hours of paid, hands-on work per internship.

For rural businesses navigating tight budgets and rapid tech shifts, the program offered far more than just extra hands-on deck. It provided a gateway to emerging talent, heightened visibility within Alberta’s broader innovation ecosystem, and a structured opportunity to breathe life into stalled or under-resourced projects.

Conversely, for the students, it was a career-defining milestone:

• Paid, meaningful work experience right in their backyard.

• Direct exposure to entrepreneurship and early-stage business operations.

• The rare chance to make a measurable impact early in their professional journeys.

  
  

From drone program development to cutting-edge social media strategy, each student brought fresh insight, technical skills, and problem-solving capacity to real-world challenges. The following story highlights exactly how an entrepreneur/student partnership turned hours of collaboration into lasting regional impact.

Growing Social Media: Jeeyoung Jang & Simply Humic

For early-stage startups, marketing is everything—yet it is often restricted by tight budgets and limited personnel. Simply Humic found the perfect solution to this modern dilemma by bringing on Jeeyoung Jang as their "Agriculture Social Media Rocket Scientist."

Don Parsons of Simply Humic highlighted how the Rural Student Spotlight Program offers startups a low-risk, high-reward environment to test new growth strategies:

“As a young startup, there are numerous demands on a small budget and marketing is a critical endeavor. This program has allowed us to test the waters, stage our efforts such that we can measure results, without making a full-time, long-term, expensive commitment. As we continue to achieve landmarks, we hope we can expand internship-type experiences until we can truly justify proper commitments to personnel.”

Don went on to praise Jeeyoung's ability to take dense, technical agricultural concepts and translate them into engaging consumer education:

“Jeeyoung has been incredible in creating and adding value to our social media presence. With her guidance and production efforts we have established solid branding and launched our PK (Product Knowledge) video series to overcome the barrier for consumers - understanding what Humic is and how it adds value to horticultural and agricultural operations. Her comprehension of our goals has been very strong. She reiterates our intentions in terms we all can understand to ensure she doesn't need to repeat the work due to confusion. Fortunately, we were able to agree upon the production timelines which complimented her school and personal schedule so it's been easy to get stellar results as expected.”

For Jeeyoung, an international student, the opportunity cracked open doors to the local business community that are historically difficult to unlock, providing a profound sense of accomplishment:

“As an international student, it can be difficult to gain experience with local businesses, but through the Rural Student Spotlight program I learned how a local business operates, what it needs, and how to approach its distributors. The most exciting moment was when I uploaded the first SIMPLY HUMIC introduction video on YouTube and could see our ideas become real content.”

The Future of Rural Innovation

The success of these placements proves that the economic and innovative future of Central Alberta doesn't rely solely on looking outward—it also relies on investing inward. By empowering students from institutions like Red Deer Polytechnic and Olds College to embed themselves within local businesses and organizations, the Rural Student Spotlight Program has built a repeatable blueprint for regional prosperity.

As these interns wrap up their projects and step into the workforce, they leave behind optimized workflows, robust digital campaigns, and safer communities—standing as a testament to the undeniable power of localized, hands-on learning.

If you’re an employer or student interested in participating in a future offering of the Rural Student Spotlight Program, please contact us: CONTACT US | CA-RIN.