For Laurie Williams, Penn State was where everything fell into place. Williams, an analyst in the Food Safety Programs Department of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) in Washington, D.C., received her bachelor’s degree in food science in 1990. But her Penn State experience began before she even arrived as a freshman. She had served as a USDA research apprentice in the Department of Food Science while still a junior in high school, working for eight weeks with food scientist Donald Thompson, who later became her academic adviser.

“That’s definitely when my interest in food science began,” Williams says. “I’d always liked biology and chemistry. When I was working with Dr. Thompson and learning about food science, I realized it was something tangible that related to my interest in science.

“The experience made a great impression on me in a number of ways. One, I knew then that I wanted to go to Penn State. Two, I knew what I wanted to major in. Three, my outlook on life was broadened. In the food science department alone, I’d experienced working with many people from different countries and backgrounds. The apprenticeship served as a huge head start in my career, and I was totally on fire when I went back to school. My friends didn’t quite understand it!”

In her current position, Williams develops and delivers food safety training programs. Representing supermarket
and grocery store chains, FMI provides food safety support and training for its members.

“A lot of food safety programs aren’t tailored toward grocery stores and supermarkets,” she says. “We’re working on meeting those needs. We’re sometimes called upon to help with crisis management, such as recalls. We let our members know that they can contact us any time, and there are new things to deal with every day. I find it rewarding to be a resource in an area as important as food safety.”

Williams, a native of Harrisburg, was active in a number of organizations while attending Penn State, including the agricultural sorority Sigma Alpha, MANRA (Minorities in Agriculture and Natural Resources Association), and the Dairy Products Judging Team.

Upon receiving her degree, she joined Kraft General Foods as a quality control laboratory technician. “I felt very fortunate to get that position right out of college,” she says. “It was an invaluable experience to work for Kraft.”

In 1992, Williams joined the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture as a food inspector. While conducting inspections in Reading, she began to recognize a communication problem with the area’s large Spanish-speaking population. “It was a real challenge to discuss food safety concepts with people who did not have English as their primary language,” she says. To overcome that challenge, Williams enrolled in Spanish Language and Culture classes at the Reading Area Community College.
She was later promoted to food sanitarian program specialist in the state agriculture department, where she managed and directed the statewide Seasonal Farm Labor Camp Program.

Williams was selected by Secretary of Agriculture Samuel E. Hayes Jr. to accompany him and a delegation of Pennsylvania agriculture business and academic representatives on the Governor’s Trade Mission to South Africa in 1998. “It was an amazing experience to be part of this broad-based effort to establish Pennsylvania in the global economy,” she says.

Keeping close ties to Penn State has been important to Williams. She remains friends with her former adviser, Donald Thompson, and she has served as president and vice president of the Penn State Food Industry Group (FIG), which comprises alumni and friends of the Department of Food Science.

“There are certain things I’ve grown to love about Penn State,” she says. “There’s something about the overall look of the campus, its location in the center of the state, the green stuff they put on the ground to make the grass grow. Not only does the University hold a special place in my memory, it was crucial in shaping my career. Every position I’ve held relates back to my training at Penn State. I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to travel this special career path.”

—Krista Weidner