Mary Gleason

I did research at the Career Center on the majors at K-State and looked into the type of jobs that would be available after graduation with that degree. I then visited the milling science department and met as many people as I could to see if it was truly a good fit.

• Kappa Alpha Theta
• Grain Science Club
• Agriculture Economics Club
• St. Isidore's Catholic Student Center

I completed an internship with Dakota Growers Pasta Company in Carrington, North Dakota, after my sophomore year. At that internship I worked with the lead miller to learn about operating a fully automated durum mill. The following summer I had an internship with Cargill in the Horizon Milling business unit in Saginaw, Texas. I attended management meetings and was given the opportunity to provide input. I also updated flow sheets and policies.

I truly think that networking is key. It’s both who you know and what you know. I took every opportunity I could to attend conferences, career fairs, and lectures and interviewed with as many companies as I could. It was really easy to interview with several companies since they specifically came on campus to interview students in the Department of Grain Science.

Every day is different. It always starts with safety and catching up on what happened at the mill the night before. The rest of the day is a combination of being in the mill, working on projects, and of course, being ready for anything, whether it's something that happens in the milling process or with the people involved.

I like that it's not just a desk job and you can get your hands dirty. I enjoy making changes to the process and then seeing the improvements.

There is never enough time to do everything you want to do. Managing people isn't always an easy task, and there are many hard decisions you have to make that can affect a lot of people.