Years ago, I saw a cheese commercial that advertised using a Christmas theme. The commercial shows a young girl approach the Christmas tree that is overloaded with presents. The parents walk up behind her and mention she must have left amazing cookies for Santa. The girl corrects the parents by stating that she left him a plate of cheese. I do not know why I still remember this commercial decades later, but it stuck. I fully expect because cheese is a powerful and influential food in American cuisine.

During the early spring of 2024, I attended a stem meeting and found out about externship opportunities. I had been considering how to find work during the summer to help support limited finances. When the opportunities became available, one stood out among the others that had caught my attention at the meeting. That opportunity was with Glanbia, an international nutrition company that had facilities here in the region. I applied for the opportunity and accepted without knowing much of what I was going to be doing. Little did I know how influential it would be on me.

Chances are that you have never really heard of or thought about Glanbia, but you have consumed their products more than you know. Glanbia has become a major cheese supplier to varied aspects of American cuisine from fast food to a nice dinner at home. Glanbia is company that demonstrates well the idea that a product can become useful and amazing in varied ways and forms. Glanbia works with dairy products from the milk stage to cheese, and all the way to protein powder.

The opportunity was much more than I had hoped for and expected. It has helped me become a better educator by gaining experiences and knowledge to help me facilitate student success. I have had the opportunity to observe, participate, and experiment with cheese making. I was able to gain a perspective about how science is central to the process of making cheese. Prior the that meeting, I had done research into cheese making in preparation for a future chemistry lesson. In my research I was fascinated just by the level of chemistry involved. When I began the externship, it was amazing to see the process in action and produce something useful.

While working as an extern at Glanbia, I was able to look for great ideas that translate into real world examples that I can use in teaching. When I teach science, I look for ways the concepts and ideas translate to real life. This opportunity has given me much to consider in terms of the applications of the sciences in something so close to everyday life. I saw ways that the sciences can are utilized be cheese makers while observing and assisting in the cheese making process. I look forward to bringing these concepts to my students in the coming and following years.

In research conducted during the externship, I found a source that explained that in 2000 the average consumer would use about 32 lbs. of cheese annually. Since then, as of 2022, the amount has increased to 42 lbs. annually. The statistics show that dairy products have become more prominent in use and not less. It also tells me that cheese has become more important to the American diet. This helps add more importance to the cheese making process and why understanding the science thereof may help our students learn science. My intention is to take what I have learned and bring it to the students in the classroom effectively to increase their success in learning.

Going forward, I have more material and opportunities I can give my students to not only do firsthand learning, but also see science done as something that is close to them potentially. When students learn using something that connects with the things that excite them, they learn the concepts more effectively. I am excited to see the students take the opportunities and grow from them.

I am grateful to Glanbia for allowing me this opportunity to gain experience, learn new things, and find a way to apply them in a way that helps my students grow. I hope that going forward I will have more opportunities like this to help me become a better educator. I am always looking for more ways to learn and grow as an educator and as an individual.