A Spud in the Hand is Worth Two in the Book

What can a university student learn at a potato processing plant that she might not find in a textbook?

"I learned how industry works. That time is a huge constraint. That everything needed to be done yesterday," says Charlene Belles, a senior in food science and toxicology who interned with Ore-Ida at Ontario, Oregon, last summer. "I learned my strengths and weaknesses."

Belles spent 12 weeks at Ore-Ida (now H.J. Heinz) developing a method to measure the texture of finished products such as french fries, correlating her findings with a group of people who tasted the products and rated their texture.

The internship gave Belles the opportunity to network with research, development, and marketing personnel as well as sales representatives, plant managers, chemists, and microbiologists.

Dwane Benson (B.S. food science ’71, M.S. food science ’72), project manager for research and development, supervised Belles’s project. She also worked with Tony Henson (B.S. animal science ’91, M.S. food science ’97) and Craig Doan (B.S. animal science ’91, M.S. food science ’98).

Doan, associate food technologist at H.J. Heinz, and Belles’s UI adviser, John Thorngate, former UI assistant professor of food science and toxicology, brought the internship opportunity to her attention. Once she was on the job, the bevy of alums continued to mentor her.

"They taught me all about their jobs, and what it takes to work in product development," said Belles. "They’re people I wouldn’t hesitate to call if I needed information or advice."

Belles, a dean’s list student with a stellar GPA, put knowledge gained from her studies to good use. In particular, coursework on sensory panels and statistics found direct application on the job. But the job itself also was an education. "I learned I needed to be more confident in my ability," Belles said, "and that I could figure out how to do a project even though I was only 20 years old."

—Donna Emert