Food Protection Trends - November/December 2022 - 510

Our Experiences (continued)
It was a huge honor to be a recipient of the 2022 Student Travel Scholarship to attend IAFP 2022
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This year was particularly meaningful to me because it was my first time
attending and presenting at IAFP's Annual Meeting in person due to circumstances over the past years.
One of my favorite aspects of this meeting was that IAFP cares for and appreciates all different
levels of careers, from undergraduate students to professionals. I especially felt that all those people
who are new in the food safety field are warmly welcomed. As an introverted person, it was the
perfect opportunity to start practicing networking and communication skills with those who are open
to having a conversation with you. Volunteering at the IAFP Foundation Booth was another unforgettable
experience where I could meet donors and work with wonderful IAFP Members. Serving at
the Student PDG Meeting and attending the Student Luncheon and Mixer were wonderful opportunities
to interact with other students as well as professionals who made their time for students.
Attending symposia and roundtables allowed me to learn more about the inside and outside of my
research area.
I am thankful for the mentorship program for scholarship recipients where I could meet my
Minji Hur
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia
mentor, Dr. Arun Bhunia, a professor from Purdue University. He was open to providing any information
and advice not limited to the IAFP conference but also on my career path. I would like to
thank my advisor, Dr. Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, for his support in presenting my poster and applying
for this travel scholarship.
Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to the IAFP Foundation, Executive Board Members, and IAFP staff, especially
to Susan Smith and Tamara Ford, along with Wendy White, for their wonderful job during the process. Without their help, this
journey would not have been possible. I look forward to attending IAFP 2023 in Toronto, Canada, and highly recommend other
students apply for the Student Travel Scholarship.
Tengfei Li
University of Nebraska -
Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
I am highly honored to be awarded the Student Travel Scholarship for this year's IAFP Annual
Meeting, and I would like to sincerely thank the IAFP Foundation for funding me to attend IAFP
2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was exciting to attend and present at the conference since
I have had the opportunity to attend only virtual meetings for the past two years because of the
pandemic. Thus, this year was my first time attending in person, and it was a truly inspirational experience
for me. I had the pleasure of reuniting with some of my former colleagues whom I haven't
seen for more than two years. I also got to meet and get to know other travel scholarship recipients
from the U.S. and other countries. Learning about their research projects, their countries, and their
experiences was a great experience for me, and I can say that I gained new friends from all over
the world at the conclusion of IAFP 2022.
Walking through the Exhibit Hall and visiting with industry professionals from different food
safety companies/institutes gave me a valuable opportunity to know about their latest commercial
food safety products and research techniques, which helped broaden my knowledge greatly. It also
helped me build connections with them. Moreover, I was able to meet with food safety professionals
from both academia and industry and learn a lot about food safety-related standards and regulations
from a broad variety of technical sessions and symposia.
I also had the opportunity to present my Ph.D. research project at the poster session. It was
a great experience to share my research with audiences from both academia and industry and receive helpful feedback and
questions from them.
I am also grateful to the IAFP mentor program for providing me with the valuable opportunity to meet my mentor, Dr. Harry Hou,
who has more than 15 years of experience working in academia and has held various leadership roles in industry and food safety
associations. It was truly a pleasure to meet him! He shared his experience and expertise, advised me on my future career, and was
also kind and gracious enough to introduce me to several food safety scientists and professionals, which I found extremely useful.
Additionally, I was fortunate to be one of the volunteers at the IAFP Foundation Booth. It was an enjoyable and meaningful
experience. I met with attendees who came to the booth, and I was able to share my thoughts about what this award meant for my
food safety career. I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to all IAFP Members and supporters for their generous
donations to the IAFP Foundation. I know it is through their donations that made the Student Travel Scholarship possible for me.
Receiving this scholarship gives me more encouragement and motivation to continue learning and exploring more in my research
field of food allergens and to make positive contributions to global health and food safety. I hope to serve at the IAFP Foundation
Booth again and give back to the Association in the future. I also look forward to attending IAFP 2023 in Toronto, Canada!
510 Food Protection Trends November/December

Food Protection Trends - November/December 2022

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