Sunday, July 06, 2008

An Iowa Lakes Community College student from rural Scranton will have the chance of a lifetime to get a free trip to Brazil this summer – and gain valuable experience on an international level.   

Tony McDonald studied in the Biorenewable Fuels program at Iowa Lakes Community College under the direction of Dave Peterson. 

This past summer, he worked at AGP in Emmetsburg where he had the opportunity to really get a grasp of the biodiesel fuel industry.  When he began looking for a place to take his second internship, he didn’t limit himself to the Midwest. 

“After already completing an internship in the biodiesel industry I wanted to broaden by horizons and experience this industry from a worldwide perspective,” said McDonald.

So, this coming summer, he’ll head to Luis Eduardo Magalhaes which is located in Bahia, Brazil, to work at Global Ag Biodiesel – the first biodiesel facility in Bahia.  The Bahia facility, which is just starting up, will produce 30 million gallons of biodiesel each year.

To secure the internship, McDonald made a connection with another Iowan.

Tyler Bruch, formerly of rural Emmetsburg, is one of the founders of Global Ag Biodiesel.  Bruch started Bruchside Farms International in Brazil in 2003.  A family farm operation, Bruchside International consists of 10, 500 acres.  Bruch is also an editor of Corn & Soybean Digest Magazine.

McDonald will head off to Brazil a few days after graduation in May and plans to stay until early August. 

That’ll get him back in the states just in time for classes at Iowa State University, where he’ll major in Agri Business.

McDonald has been interested in the renewable fuels industry since he was young.  He grew up on a farm which had three renewable fuels plants within a five mile radius.  McDonald’s areas of study at Iowa Lakes were process technologies and support equipment, as well as management classes.

“Hopefully this internship will open doors for not only me, but other people in the (Iowa Lakes) program on an international level in the future,” McDonald said.

The program began at Iowa Lakes in the fall of 2005 with instructor Dave Peterson.  This course work covers a wide range of alternative fuels that are being explored by the industry, such as biofuels, hydrogen, methane/biogas and, of course, ethanol.  Some courses include process technologies and support equipment, management classes and instrumentation.  The two-year program leads to an Associate in Applied Science Degree.