Reagan Hansen | Food Science and Sustainable Technologies Major
Las Vegas, NV | Food and Fermentation Science Club | Class of 2025
Passion, People, and Purpose
A few of my hobbies are baking, swimming, watching movies, and spending time at the park. Something that's also really important to me is spending time with the people I love, as I think the relationships I form with people can make or break an experience. I'm also very passionate about my community, as I love fostering kittens, going to fundraising events and workshops with my club, and teaching others.
Scoops of Experience
The biggest hands-on experience I got through the College of Ag Sciences was through the Beaver Classic Creamery. I changed my major from Chemistry to Food Science and Sustainable Technologies, and applied for the student technical assistant position. A year later, I was promoted to a retail lead at the brand-new creamery in Withycombe Hall. My boss tasked me with creating an allergen book, an SOPs book, taglines, cup/cone sleeve designs, and even looking into marketing trends for ice cream to make decisions about what flavors we will stock on the floor. David trusted me to build the shop up from the ground and gave me many opportunities to be a leader and be involved in the decision-making process. I also learned how important it is to be adaptable in a work environment, as many things go wrong, everyone would look to me, and I just needed to keep calm and use my problem-solving skills. I felt like I got professional experience at this job, which was something you can't just obtain from classes. I found that when I put my heart into my job, I could make anything happen, and even if I made mistakes, it was okay, as this was part of the learning process.
Friendship Fueled
One major issue I had was loneliness at OSU. In the Chemistry department, I found that a lot of my peers were very competitive with grades and exam scores, and as someone who is very people-oriented, it distressed me a lot. After switching to the food science major under the College of Ag Sciences, I was able to make some genuine friendships, and it was so amazing to see how everyone supported each other's different endeavors, and even studied to succeed in classes together. I would say that the best part of my time at OSU was some of the friendships I made in my department and through my job, as I can see them continuing after college, and I can't wait to see everyone doing what they love.
Becoming More Than I Imagined
When I came to OSU, I didn't know what I wanted to do, and I didn't really know who I was as a person. Once I joined the food science major, I started making so many friends with some of the amazing students, and I felt so comfortable with everyone. My friends encouraged me to apply for a position at the Beaver Classic Creamery and run for a position in the Food and Fermentation Science Club, which was a huge turning point for me as the people around me genuinely wanted me to be around and enjoyed seeing me succeed, so I felt as if friendships were redefined for me. My friends helped me get out of my comfort zone by trying new, fun things, which made me more extroverted, and they also believed in me when I was trying to get through my fear of public speaking. Who knew that all I needed was a good community to make me feel like I belong and encourage me in my journey at OSU? Every day, I look forward to seeing my friends, coworkers, and classmates, and that's what keeps me going. This shift in my perspective about genuinely valuing the relationships I have with people has improved my friendships and relationship with my family.
Finding My Place
I wish that I could've told myself that my time here at OSU is not just to get a degree, and the most valuable thing from college experience might not be getting a degree, but rather finding myself and making some amazing friends.