The People

I think one of my favorite things about this experience is the people and how entirely different everyone's background is. I'm definitely the youngest person here--everyone else is at least working on their master's degree, and some people have had a PhD for over 35 years! When I was first working with Jen I found out that her background was actually in nutrition and food technology, and she's actually representing Kentucky right now at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) annual meeting and expo in Chicago, and in a few weeks she'll be attending a similar event in South Africa. When I was working with Jamie she told me that after she received her master's degree she got a job with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources where she did aquaculture (basically helping to conserve different fish populations by breeding them in a safe environment). When she realized she liked the work but not the environment she went back to school and ended up in protein chemistry, although she still does aquaculture because Dr. Youling Xiong (who's in charge of the protein chemistry lab) happens to have some experience in that area.

This coming week I'm going to start working with Dr. Joe O'Leary, originally from Ireland, who does most of his research with milk and other dairy products. Everybody that I've met here seems completely invested in what they're working on, and it feels amazing!