From farm to table to classroom
Donna McKinnon - 9 September 2026
For many alumni, giving back is often measured in financial contributions, but one graduate is showing that the most meaningful impact can’t always be written on a cheque. By opening her cattle farm to current students and offering direct, hands-on learning, Chelsea Pellerin (‘12 BSc Ag) is redefining alumni stewardship — demonstrating that sharing time, space and real-world experience is just as vital to supporting the next generation.
For over a decade, the Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science (AFNS) grad has consistently supported U of A students, opening her farming operation to participants of the ALES Mini Internship Program (AMIP) since its launch in 2016. The program pairs students with industry mentors for immersive, unpaid three-day placements over the fall and winter reading breaks. AMIP covers all travel expenses and protective equipment, ensuring students can focus entirely on building practical skills.
Immersive is an understatement. “It’s not ‘stand and observe’ – they're handling udders, putting a teat in a calf's mouth, getting them to create that bond between mama and baby right away,” Pellerin explains. In addition, students get all types of hands-on experience, like "pulling calves” – which means, helping to birth them. With a herd of roughly 450 cows welcoming hundreds of calves each spring, students are immediately thrown into real, active farm life.
Pellerin’s investment in experiential learning can be traced back to her time as a student when she was a participant in the faculty’s Heifer in Your Tank project — then part of the Animal Science 200 course. Taught by Dr. Frank Robinson (now emeritus), the program emphasized a hands-on approach to learning by tasking small groups of students with finding creative solutions to practical agricultural questions. It was a profound turning point in Chelsea’s education — lifting her out of first-year isolation, rebuilding her confidence and surrounding her with a supportive network of peers. It was so transformative, she remained in the program for the rest of her degree as a learning coach, paying her mentorship forward.
Years later, that shared belief in practical learning brought their paths together again. When Robinson created the ALES Mini-Internship Program in 2016, Pellerin was on board from day one as one of its inaugural hosts. The program continues to be supported through the Frank Robinson Youth Academy (FRYA), a donor-funded initiative that provides dedicated extra-curricular, hands-on experiential learning for students from kindergarten through to post-secondary education.
Since that time, Pellerin, co-owner of Geiger Farms (Geiger was her maiden name), has hosted more than 40 students, approximately two to three students a semester and mostly in February when it’s calving season. She often invites them back to help on the farm’s processing days, giving them hands-on experience as the team vaccinates, tags and brands large groups of cattle.
“As an alumnus, it’s really nice to be able to give back to the university, and to offer the students the opportunity to get their feet wet and their hands dirty,” she says.
That hands-on experience takes place on a property steeped in family history. The long-standing operation located in Westlock County is largely run by Chelsea and her sister, Kassidy. Established in 1932 by their great grandparents, the duo, who are both married with children, affectionately refer to themselves as "the farmHERS" — relegating their spouses to the title of ‘the farmHERs’ husbands’. “The time has come for a strong female focus on the farm,” she says.
Opening that family operation to AMIP students brings a fresh perspective to the demanding work.
“Farming connects you with nature and your food. It’s a busy life, a hard life, having nature dictate your profits, but it's also amazing and the students reinvigorate us and remind us that the calves are cute!”
Are you a student interested in hands-on experiences or an organization interested in hosting students? Visit the ALES Mini-Internship Program page for information.