Food Science Senior Spotlight - Laura Harriss

Hometown: Powder Springs, GA

Major: Food Science 

Minor: Fermentation Sciences

Why did you choose Purdue Food Science: I thought that Purdue had a really strong food science department overall. I especially liked the strong industry relationships that Purdue Food Science has through the Industrial Associates program as interactions through this program seem to really help people when it comes to securing internships and jobs! Another piece was that the 100% job placement rate made me confident that Purdue Food Science would provide me with a quality education that would help make it easier to secure employment

What made your Purdue experience great?: The opportunities to involve myself in many different organizations across campus! These opportunities allowed me to meet people from a wide variety of majors and backgrounds as well as further develop my leadership skills. I’ve been able to make friendships at Purdue that I know will last forever.

Favorite memory of your time at Purdue: Some of favorite Purdue memories come from being involved in product development teams. I always enjoy seeing my teams work from coming up with an idea to developing a tasty product on the bench!

Favorite spot on campus: Wine Library! I think this is the coolest room on campus!

Favorite club/organization: I love all the clubs I’m involved in, but my top 3 are Purdue Hillel, College Bowl, and Product Development teams.

What other activities or organizations did you participate in while at Purdue?: President - Purdue Hillel, Co-Coach - Purdue IFTSA College Bowl Team, Captain - Purdue IFTSA MARS Product Development Team, Food Science Club Member, Senior Mentor - Purdue DRC Peer Mentor Program, Food Science Envoy, Student Contributor - FEMI, Student in the John Martinson Honors College, College of Agriculture Dean’s Scholar

Places you have been as a Purdue student:

• Summer 2022: Research and Development Technician (Intern) at Ideation in Atlanta, Georgia 
• Summer 2023: Research and Development Intern at Brakebush in Westfield, Wisconsin
• Summer 2024: R&D Intern at PepsiCo in Valhalla, New York
• December 2024: Traveled to Israel with Purdue Hillel through the Birthright program

Favorite class: FS 38300 Fermented Beverage Products. I loved getting to learn more about the fermented beverage industry in this course, as well as what goes into making fermented beverage products. The small class size allowed for a more interactive course style as well. We even got to make our own wine, tour a local brewery, and taste a wide variety of products to help us learn more about them!

Biggest accomplishment while at Purdue: My team being selected as a finalist in the 2025 IFTSA & MARS Product Development Competition.

Future plans after graduation: Work full time as an R&D Associate Scientist at PepsiCo in Valhalla, New York.

Long term career goals: Remain in R&D and/or Product Development and help create products that people love!

Advice for underclassmen: Involve yourself in departmental extracurriculars such as College Bowl, Product Development, FEMI, Envoys, etc. Being involved in these activities allows you to apply skills learned in the classroom and gain skills that cannot be learned through FS which helps a lot when it comes to strengthening your resume and gaining experience to help secure internships. Some department extracurriculars also allow for more interaction with people in industry as well, which is a great way to help build your network! Another piece of advice would be to involve yourself in a wide variety of organizations, but make sure you can still maintain a good balance between clubs and academics. I made the mistake of over involving myself as a freshman, and I think it’s important to find the organizations that most interest you but that also give you the opportunity to try something new! College is a great opportunity to get out of your shell and try new things.