Donna Watson
Bachelor of Science
Workplace learning: Department of Primary Industries
"I started my career as a qualified chef but noticed fairly early on that it was the chemistry of food that interested me most, so I enrolled in a Bachelor of Science at VU.
As part of my course, I was fortunate enough to receive a four-week placement with the Department of Primary Industries in Werribee, where I worked on a research program looking at the right time to pick tomatoes for optimum nutritional benefit.
This involved doing extractions and reconstituting samples, as well as spectrometry – a process whereby the sample is exposed to infrared light to analyse its molecules. My research results were acknowledged in a conference poster, which was just incredible.
The LiWC program allowed me to put theory into practice and my confidence has grown considerably as a result.
I now know with certainty that this is what I want to do for the rest of my career."
Course studied
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