The Future Looks Bright: CAFES Graduates Spotlight 2021

Food Science and Technology major Michelle Schmitt was introduced to Land O'Lakes as a potential employer from the very start. She explains below.

"Land O’Lakes first came on to my radar during my first year of college. One of my good friends had an internship with them. She had nothing but wonderful things to say about the company. I found a job posting for their Retail Test Kitchen Internship and knew I had to apply. The internship combined my passion for food science with my love for baking and cooking. I ended up not getting the internship that summer, but I was able to network with several people at Land O’Lakes to understand how I could gain more experience to be more competitive the next summer. Putting in a year of hardwork and dedication, I found out that I had gotten the internship for the summer of 2019!"

Her internship in the Retail Test Kitchen at Land O'Lakes was the perfect introduction to the company. She was not only able to work with various company products, but interacted with other employees in marketing, R&D, quality, consumer affairs and more. This experience led to another internship this past summer 2020 with the Natural Cheese and Specialty Powders team at Land O'Lakes. And now, she has accepted a full-time position.

"As a Talent Acceleration Program Associate, I will be participating in a two-year rotational supply chain program. This program is designed to build leaders from within the company who have a broad range of experience. The first year I will be placed in a dairy plant to gain experience on the manufacturing side of the business. As a food science major, I will be focusing on food safety, quality and process improvement projects with the plant. For the second year of the program, I will complete a corporate supply chain rotation. Upon completion of this program, I will then rotate out into a permanent full time position where my interests and talents are best suited. I am currently interested in pursuing dairy foods R&D or engineering. The unique part about this program is that it is highly driven by your interests within supply chain."
 
Michelle has been involved with a variety of activities at UWRF, including CAFES Senator in the Student Government Association as well as President and founding member of the Food Science Club.

"Reflecting on my time at UWRF as whole, the most impactful experience I had was working with Michelle Farner on the Dairy Pilot Plant Renovation Project. As a student employee, I assisted with writing the Food Safety Plan for the new plant, including creating process flows, conducting hazard analyses, and writing SOPs. I have literally been able to witness every step and detail of building up a dairy plant. This has been invaluable experience for me as a student."

Zac Aanerud likes learning new things and that’s exactly what he’ll be doing at the University of Minnesota starting next week.  Zac is headed to graduate school, pursuing a master’s degree in the Water Resources Science program at UMN. He is diving right into a research project this summer, studying the nitrogen cycle in cornfields in southwestern Minnesota. In the fall he’ll start taking classes. He expects to earn his degree in 2 to 3 years.

When you hear what Zac will always remember from his time at UWRF, you’ll understand why he is headed to graduate school.

"I was a research assistant for Jill Coleman Wasik for the past couple years, and I have done two undergraduate research projects myself.  I think my nitrate project was probably the most impactful for me and what I will always remember when looking back.  Just being out in the field collecting samples, analyzing them in the lab, all of it was just really enjoyable for me.  The other main thing was just all the classes. I loved having classes that went outside, took great field trips, and correlated it all wth what we were learning at the time.  I found a lot of the classes here to be a lot of fun because you are learning so many new things you didn't know before, it's pretty eye-opening and I enjoy that."

Beyond just enjoying doing research, Zac was interested in digging deeper and focusing on a specific topic.

“When you graduate with an Environmental Science major and a Hydrogeology minor you learn so many different things, but never really focus on one topic. When I knew I wanted to pursue contaminants I knew I would need more knowledge than what I already have.  I looked at several different schools that deal with contaminants in water systems, and when I saw how big the Water Resources Science program is at UMN I felt it would be my best option for the future, so I applied. And this research assistant opportunity counts as a job and school so I figured this would be the best of both worlds. Getting to further my knowledge while also being able to make money and support myself.”

Agricultural Business major Dakota Watton will get right to work. After completing her final exams this week, she steps into her full-time position on May 10. But she’ll feel right at home because she’s been working in a part-time role for Grassland Dairy for most of her senior year.

Dakota describes how she took the initiative in her job search and how it paid off for her.

"I found this position because I knew I wanted to work close to home after graduation so I would casually check Grassland's website for current openings. In August 2020, I inquired about an Accounts Payable position that was filled but was informed of an upcoming opening in Accounts Receivable and was encouraged to apply. This position allowed me to work remotely during the pandemic, while attending UWRF for my senior year. As graduation in May approached, I reached out to my supervisor about the potential for full-time employment and it just worked out that there was an opportunity for me!  I have been assisting with the daily deposits and daily sales postings for several divisions of Grassland Dairy, I will continue those daily tasks and take on additional weekly and monthly accounting tasks."

She let her interests and passion guide her, one step at a time to her ideal position.

"I did not grow up on a farm, but I was an avid FFA member in high school and that is what really stemmed my love for agriculture. I also fell in love with accounting while in high school and I always wanted to combine the two passions, so that is what I did!  I started at CVTC in Eau Claire receiving my associate's degree in Accounting, then transferred to UWRF to receive my bachelor's degree in Agricultural Business emphasizing coursework around accounting/finance."

Dakota took advantage of her time at UWRF and joined the UWRF Collegiate Farm Bureau and the UWRF Random Acts organization, and participated in the Agribusiness Leadership certificate program. Her academic coursework and involvement at UWRF gave her a deeper look at the agricultural industry.

"The detailed knowledge of both the agriculture and accounting industries, and this position with Grassland Dairy, it's just what I was hoping to have when finishing college."

Nellie Spence is headed north from her hometown of Sussex, all the way north to Fargo.  She’s taking her Crop and Soil Science knowledge and putting it to work for Corteva Agriscience.   As an Associate Territory Manager she’ll be covering all of North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota, working with the Pioneer Seeds brand. She will be learning the sales cycle, product promotion strategies and other initiatives in preparation for managing her own territory in the near future.

It was a classmate that interned with Corteva Agriscience that actually steered Nellie to this position. Nellie had previous internships in crop scouting, seed sales and agronomic research with other organizations. With those experiences along with her other activities on campus, Nellie’s classmate thought she would be an excellent fit for this position and Corteva Agriscience apparently agreed.

When considering how she feels UWRF prepared her for the future, Nellie realized her preparation went beyond coursework and the classroom.

"I learned how to manage my time effectively and how to prioritize what's most important to me.  Making adequate time for schoolwork was essential, but my professors and advisors also understood how vital outside opportunities and experiences were in preparation for a career.  Through their guidance and encouragement, I felt comfortable seeking out those opportunities, allowing me to make the most of my college career."

And Nellie was actively involved in many groups and activities, including Sigma Alpha, the Crops and Soils Club, crops judging, soil judging and Falcon Outdoor Adventures (FOA).  She worked at FOA for more than 3 years, primarily as a climbing wall instructor. It was her experiences with FOA that Nellie deemed most meaningful.

"My most impactful experiences (I can't choose just one) have happened at my job at FOA. Learning how to push myself out of my comfort zone, problem solve in critical situations, and create a welcoming environment for people of all different backgrounds has instilled skills in me that I'll be able to take with me for the rest of my career."

Logan Huppert is one of our graduates who isn't immediately joining the workforce, only because he's headed off to basic training first.  But when he returns in the fall he'll be joining the staff at Komro Sales and Service as a Junior Project Manager.  At Komro he'll be working directly with customers beginning with the bid process all the way through post-installation.

As Logan describes it, he first stumbled across this company by accident and never left.

"I found this company a little by accident when I was looking for parts for one of our skid steers.  I was looking for a summer job after graduating from high school and the parts man encouraged me to apply. I was hired within weeks and have gone back to work there during every semester break since. My role was different each time I came back, and served as a roundabout way of training me for this full-time position I just accepted."

Logan credits his involvement with student organizations for helping him feel prepared for a career in engineering. He joined the UWRF student chapter of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and participated on the student design quarter-scale tractor team. He also joined the Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) fraternity on campus. It’s the connections he gained through AGR and the hands-on experience as part of the design team that give him confidence.

The diverse set of classes Logan took in agricultural engineering gave him a broad perspective of the industry. But he said it boils down to this.

“Most of what an engineer does is problem-solving. Through the classes that I have taken at UWRF, I have learned that anything can be solved. It might just take a hundred or so different approaches."