From a young age, food was always something that interested me, whether it was in the kitchen baking bread with my parents at the weekend or a barbecue at my grandparents’ house. During my time at school, my interests gravitated towards how things worked, fundamental science and mathematics.

Throughout my teenage years, I took a greater interest in food from a cooking perspective and since my Dad worked for a large multinational food business, discussions at home became more focused around science and engineering with food at the heart of those topics. Following the completion of my A‐Levels, I went to the University of Nottingham to study a BSc (Hons) in Food Science.

During undergraduate studies, highlights were modules on Manufacture of Food, Food Product Case Studies, Food Factory Operations and New Product Development.

The year in industry really helped refine my interests within the broader area of food science. During the final year of my undergraduate study, the crucial decision for me to make was: do I continue with further study and complete a PhD or do I apply for graduate positions? Deciding to undertake a PhD was the next logical step to enable me to progress my career. This plan was reinforced during my time as Chair of the IFST Student Group, which enabled me to participate in multiple networking opportunities with influential members of the UK food industry, when I observed that the majority (but not all) of Senior Technical Directors hold a PhD.

This was ultimately the deciding factor which led to a further three years of study, again at the University of Nottingham, for a PhD in Food Science with multi‐disciplinary supervisors in both the Food Science Department, the Chemical Engineering Department and, in industry, with Campden BRI.

One significant benefit I found studying a PhD at the University of Nottingham was that part of each year required me to complete a minimum of 20 credits (equivalent to 10 full days) of training. These training courses were conducted by the Graduate School but also involved external presenters for a range of difference courses.

The most memorable courses for me were The Tools of Problem Solving and Introduction to Project Management as, not only did they help during the PhD experimental phase but, more recently, I have used aspects of what I learned in my job at Warburtons.

Alongside the PhD, I chaired the IFST Student Group, which gave several opportunities to further shape me as a Food Scientist. This included working internationally with the IFT Student Association in the USA, organising multiple student events whilst leading a team of like‐minded students and attending numerous networking events.

Everything mentioned previously has played an important role in enabling me to be employed in my current role at Warburtons.

I joined Warburtons in February 2020 as the Data Analyst & Researcher in Quality. The main aim of the role involves providing technical input across a range of projects within the Quality function using a scientific, evidence‐led approach to provide solutions delivered through quantitative data.

Reflecting on what most interested me at school and the decisions I have made along the way has culminated in being able to apply the skills and knowledge developed through my studies to real‐life scenarios on a daily basis and to deliver a consistent impact on business performance whilst helping to drive meaningful change.

My advice for students who are starting their food science journey would be to ‘be open‐minded and take every opportunity given to you, no matter how challenging, as early as possible because you never know which contacts you may meet on the way’.

从很小的时候开始，食物就一直使我感兴趣，无论是周末在厨房里与父母一起烤面包，还是在祖父母的家中烧烤。在学校期间，我的兴趣集中在事物的运作方式，基础科学和数学上。

在整个青少年时期，从烹饪的角度出发，我对食品越来越感兴趣，而自从我父亲在一家大型跨国食品公司工作以来，在家中的讨论就更加围绕科学和工程为重点，而食品则是这些主题的核心。完成我的A级课程后，我去了诺丁汉大学学习食品科学（荣誉）理学学士学位。

在本科学习期间，重点是食品制造，食品案例研究，食品工厂运营和新产品开发等模块。

工业界的这一年确实帮助我提高了对食品科学更广泛领域的兴趣。在本科学习的最后一年，我要做出的关键决定是：我是否要继续深造并完成博士学位，还是申请研究生职位？决定攻读博士学位是使我能够发展事业的下一个合乎逻辑的步骤。在我担任IFST学生小组主席的期间，该计划得到了加强，这使我得以与英国食品行业的有影响力的成员一起参与多种交流机会，当时我注意到大多数（但不是全部）高级技术总监都拥有博士

最终，这是决定因素，导致又在诺丁汉大学学习了三年的食品科学博士学位，在食品科学系，化学工程系以及工业界均拥有多学科主管与Campden BRI。

我发现在诺丁汉大学攻读博士学位的一个重要好处是，每年的一部分需要我完成至少20个学分（相当于10个整天）的培训。这些培训课程由研究生院进行，但还邀请外部演讲者参加一系列差异课程。

对我而言，最难忘的课程是《问题解决工具和项目管理入门》，不仅在博士实验阶段有所帮助，而且最近我还利用了我在Warburtons工作中学到的内容。

除了博士学位以外，我还主持了IFST学生小组，该小组给了我进一步塑造食品科学家的机会。这包括与美国IFT学生协会进行国际合作，组织多个学生活动，同时领导一群志趣相投的学生，并参加许多社交活动。

前面提到的一切都对我成为Warburtons的现任职位起了重要作用。

我于2020年2月加入Warburtons，担任质量数据分析师和研究员。该角色的主要目的是使用科学的，以证据为主导的方法，为质量职能范围内的多个项目提供技术投入，以提供通过定量数据提供的解决方案。

反思我在学校最感兴趣的东西以及我一路走来所做的决定，最终使我能够每天将通过学习获得的技能和知识应用于现实生活中，并对业务绩效产生持续的影响同时帮助推动有意义的变化。

我对刚开始食品科学之旅的学生的建议是“思想开阔，抓住机遇，无论挑战如何，都应尽早，因为您永远不知道在路上会遇到哪些联系”。