After graduating from Auburn University with a degree in poultry science, Andalusia High School alumna Jennifer Botta is hard at work trying to recruit for her company, Wayne Farms, which is offering 400 new jobs after their recent expansion.

Botta travels from her home in Andalusia to Enterprise for work every morning, but she said that the drive is worth it.

“The drive is not bad at all,” Botta said. “And once they open the new 84 in Elba it will be even shorter, but the job is definitely worth the drive.”

Botta decided to pursue a career poultry science for two reasons.

“The poultry industry is huge in the southeast,” Botta said. “And the amount of scholarships in this field are huge. I just knew it was my best bet to get out of college with no debt at all.”

She went to work for Wayne Farms because of its location and the way they treat their employees.

“I wanted to stay in the southeast,” Botta said. “I had several other places offer me a job, but I with how conservative Wayne Farms is and how wise they are with their financial decisions I knew this was the place to go. They are very family oriented and just have respect for their employees.”

Botta’s advice for anyone interested in applying at Wayne Farms is to be dedicated and work hard.

“With hard work and dedication you can climb the rankings pretty quick,” Botta said. “They give people a lot of chances to show their work ethic.”

Botta said that the competitive wages are also what attracted her to Wayne Farms.

“The wages are very competitive starting out at $9.50,” Botta said. “There are more skilled positions that start even higher than that. Once you go through the 60-day probation period, you get a two-dollar raise.”

Botta is in the company’s management trainee program.

“I will be in this program for about 12 to 15 months,” Botta said. “I spend four to six weeks in every single department so I get to know how everything works.”

Botta is looking taking oin more responsibility.

“I’m looking forward to moving up the food chain within Wayne Farms,” Botta said. “They have been very great to me, they treat me as a person not just another employee.”

Locally every chance that she gets, she brings up how Wayne Farms is hiring.

“Every unemployed person I see in Andalusia I tell them about applying,” Botta said. “It is a great job for anyone in Covington County.”