Concluding Remarks for Summer 2014

       After the pilot plant run at Oscar Mayer in Madison, I continued my internship with the normal tests for quality on the final hot dogs, and worked hard to compile and interpret data for my final presentation. There were a lot of graphs, tables, and explanations of materials and methods to form a conclusion for a recommendation for the Oscar Mayer business unit. My final presentation was Monday, Sept. 15 and I worked with Scott O. to cater a luncheon to accompany my powerpoint; we figured that more people would attend if there was food to enjoy! We served beef and turkey hot dogs from the company store, Mom's Baked Beans with a Roof of Bacon, Sriracha coleslaw, and potato salad -- YUM! Upon walking in and smelling the food, I heard someone say "This is already the best intern presentation, and she hasn't even started!" :)



      The presentation was a powerpoint with about 30 slides, comprised of intern background, additional projects at Kraft, summer adventures, materials and methods, results, discussion, business impact, and acknowledgement. The entire lunch and presentation took less than 30 minutes! It was a huge success following a long culmination of hard work and dedication.

Speaking of hard work and dedication, I had some help
deconstructing my bike so that I could ship it to California

       After the presentation, I worked on a technical report for a summary of experiment results and trained a newly hired employee, who would be assuming my work responsibilities upon my departure. I also scrambled to get rid of the mass of food in my refrigerator by hosting a luncheon for closer mentors and coworkers from my department. I cooked them a stuffed bell pepper lunch in some of the kitchen ovens --everyone loved them! I also got to spend more time with my sponsors, Dr. Legan and Dr. Leland, and Chad G. before leaving.

SURPRISE!! My 22nd Birthday in the Bat Cave
"Good friends, good love, good life"

       I was also very eager to see the city a few more times before leaving and took a couple of photos from my concluding visits.

The L train station in the Loop

Three Floyds Brewery & Restaurant - Munster, Indiana

The Green Mill cocktail lounge for swing dancing
Landmark for mob history with Al Capone!

Overall, I have been the most fortunate person to have had this unforgettable and extremely valuable experience during my time spent in Glenview, IL as a Kraft Foods R&D intern. I look forward to my return for another great internship in May, after I finish my undergraduate career in March. I love living in the Midwest, exploring, and I value gaining experience in the food industry. I will continue to use this blog as an educational conduit for the underclassmen in the UC Davis Food Science Department and to share more experiences from events in different fields of the industry.