Where does your finished food come from? The stuff that comes in a neat little package with an alluring logo and bright colors. The convenience of it making it easier to prepare for a party or maybe just to snack later when no one is looking. That's the stuff I help create, develop, and enhance. My team and I work together to apply unique and creative concepts to deli protein salads and canned protein snack kits. I have never seen the other side of the food manufacturing process until I began working in my current position in a manufacture's Test Kitchen. Here, we take notes form what the market demands and apply them to our products before presenting them to our customers. Form there, we tweak and clean up the recipe to match any specifications the customer wants or requires. From here, there is extensive sensory evaluations, microorganism growth studies, and data collecting to determine if the product can pass our rigorous tests over the expected shelf life. Each week brings new challenges that I am always eager to overcome. Through the company's generosity I have had the opportunity to attend seminars, webinars, and food shows in hopes to apply some of my newfound knowledge to our developing products. I have also found the opportunity to be able to go back to school. With this job, I have been able to stabilize my family. I am confident that I will be able to use my schooling to move up to a supervising position that will oversee the Product Development projects. I will use this grant to assist in the cost of my courses and learning materials that are required. I want to lift myself up and continue to learn. I feel that working to be project manager in the Product Development department motivates me to be better at what I do and to become a better person. Between making relationships and conversing directly with customers, this will most definitely allow me to expand my knowledge and relationships with others in this field so that maybe, someday, I can climb even higher.