I have spent the last few years earning my Ph.D. at Washington State University, an endeavor that I will soon be finished with. I have been thankful for the opportunity to return to academia at this stage of life, as I realize not everyone is able to do so. I have made full use of this time to learn from my new peers like there is no tomorrow, and have come a long way in a few short years towards having a better understanding of foundational engineering and materials science concepts as applied to food. I think I've learned enough about extrusion to do some pretty cool stuff with the technology in the future. Most importantly, I've been able to make new friends from across the globe and collaborate with some of the best experts in the field, for which I will always be grateful.My previous industry experiences gave me a holistic overview of food and ingredient manufacturing, from both an R&D and operations perspective. My first industry experiences developing dairy and plant-based frozen desserts for retail and food service clients provided broad exposure to how ingredients such as proteins, hydrocolloids, and fibers are used in applications; I was also exposed to the business and sales aspects of the food industry during this time. I was then fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work in a technical services role for one of the largest dairy ingredient manufacturers in North America, where I learned a great deal about applied engineering, food safety, and operations management. I was fortunate enough to be able to round out all of this practical industrial experience with special opportunities such as being invited to speak at short-courses and conferences while earning my M.S. in Food Science while working full time.All in all, I look forward to what I'll be doing next after I graduate this Summer.