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<< back to the 2004 archive listing << Food Protection Trends President's Perspective “Invest in Our Future -- Our Students” Those of us who are, ahem, “seasoned” food safety professionals may only have distant memories of that youthful enthusiasm and, yes, even “innocence”, we had during our under-graduate and graduate days in college. I ask you to take a moment while reading this month’s column, to hearken back to that time and recapture that youthful spirit. Wouldn’t it be great to sustain that spirit throughout our professional career, and, throughout our personal life? To combine that enthusiastic “can do” spirit with the seasoned experience that comes with time would make no hurdle, however large or small, seem insurmountable. I believe our members from academia who work closely with the students everyday know what I mean. In my professional position and my position as IAFP President I have the good fortune of interacting with students from a number of universities. I can certainly say that it is one of the activities that I enjoy the most. We are fortunate at IAFP to have a vibrant and active Student Professional Development Group. The mission of the PDG is to provide students of food safety with a platform to enrich their experience as members of IAFP. The goals of the student PDG are manifold: · To provide the opportunity for students to network with peers · To serve as a resource for food safety employers to seek qualified applicants · To encourage effective exchange of information on protecting the food supply by fostering relationships at the student level · To maintain high member-ship in IAFP by encouraging students to join the Assoc-iation · To serve the interests and needs of the students · To incorporate change according to the interests and needs of the students The above mission statement and goals are outlined in the Student Member section of the IAFP Web site at www.foodprotection.org. I urge you to take some time to visit the Student Member section of the IAFP Web site. Your Executive Board continues to work hard to support the goals of the Student PDG. For example, the Board, in response to a request from the Student PDG, approved a worldwide, affordable Online membership rate for student members of $48.00 per year. The Board also approved a stipend of up to $1,000.00 per year to be used by Student PDG Officers for travel to IAFP Annual Meetings. IAFP supports the development and dissemination of the Student PDG Newsletter and sponsors a student reception and luncheon at the Annual Meeting. The Student PDG also works on developing and submitting a technical symposium each year at the Annual Meeting. It’s a great experience for students to work together and learn about organizing and developing a technical program at our inter-national meeting. Michelle Danyluk at the University of California – Davis is the Student PDG 2004 Chairperson and Renee Raiden, of Virginia Tech, is the 2004 Vice Chairperson. Please introduce yourself and thank them for their leadership and involvement. I know that I personally appreciate their dedication and hard work and I know it will reward them in a number of ways in the future. Harvey Firestone, the great American businessman, once said, “It is only as we develop others that we permanently succeed.” I truly believe that is vital to the future of our organization and to the future of our profession to invest our resources and time in nurturing and teaching our students. By teaching, I don’t just mean the “schoolbook” learning that our academic educators do so well — I believe that the rest of us in industry and government must also play a role in visiting our campuses, supporting a summer intern, or just talking to the students at the Annual Meeting. Share your experiences and insights; the students will appreciate it and it will return dividends to you, as well. One vision that I continue to articulate is to develop the IAFP Foundation Fund to a self-sustaining level of greater than $1.0 million. The proceeds from the Fund could be used, among other things, to support IAFP scholarships for deserving students or to support the travel of students to IAFP Annual Meetings. You can help by making a donation to this fund and encouraging your employer to contribute as well. I urge you to invest in our future — our students. We need to recapture our youthful spirit and secure the safety of our global food for generations to come. Investing in our students is a great way to do this. As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments at phall@kraft.com. Until next month… |