Robert M. Kerr

Food and Agricultural Products Center

 

It was Jan. 21, 2022, when I received an email that I was selected for the overseas internship at Oklahoma State University under the National Agricultural Higher Education Project. My name is JashanPreet Singh, and I am a third-year student of B. Tech pursuing my major in Food Technology at the National Dairy Research Institute in India. This project is a world bank funded project in which some meritorious students receive an opportunity to go abroad and experience different cultures and perspectives, including new traditions, customs and meeting new people. Fully embracing this new culture is a chance to step out of your comfort zone and experience unfamiliar situations.

 

It was a great feeling because I would be getting international exposure at a very young age. The real struggle began when I applied for a United States Visa. The procedure was very long, and the most challenging part was getting a consular interview appointment. Luckily, my interview was approved April 6 by the consular office.

 

I landed at Stillwater on May 2, which just happened to be during a tornado warning. We had received warning messages and were asked to take refuge in the storm shelter. The storm soon passed, and I got started on my formalities. Soon I met Ranjith Ramanathan and he gave me a tour of the campus and I got to see the OSU Student Union, the largest student union in the world. The greenery and architecture were the best part of the tour as they set a good environment for engaging in studies.

 

Now that I was more or less settled here, I felt excited to start what I came here to do, gain more exposure. My advisor, Ravi Jadeja, welcomed me by taking me to a nice little Indian restaurant in Stillwater. Dr. Jadeja then took the opportunity to give me a tour of the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center and introduced me to all the faculty and staff at FAPC. I discussed my area of research, preventive controls plan for a local food processor, with my professor and started working on it from the next day. During my internship I assisted Dr. Jadeja in making a food safety plan of black pepper for a food processor at Oklahoma City.

 

I visited couple of industries with Dr. Jadeja and learned how practically industries face problems regarding food safety and how they overcome them. These industry visits were closely followed by a sanitation workshop which was a great learning experience. During my stay at OSU, I also got a chance to visit an American Dairy Science Association Meeting in Kansas City, which was one of the best learning experiences I ever had. The faculty and staff at FAPC were friendly and supportive as they tried to involve me in every activity going on at FAPC. Even though the time schedules were hectic, I made things work and built-up time management skills.

 

All in all, my experience here at OSU was second to none. From the weather to research, I had many “firsts” and discovered a whole lot every time I stepped out of my room. When I do leave for India, the thing I will cherish the most is the people I met during this journey.