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From Fortune 500 to the family farm
By Olivia Maddox
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"I've always loved working with exotic animals," says Melissa Kasper. As an aviculturalist, she trains birds from all over the world, like this African pygmy falcon named Diamond. (Photo by Gary P. Bungart) |
Melissa Kasper trains falcons and swims with dolphins. An aviculturalist for Florida's Discovery Cove, she manages one of the largest free-flight aviaries in the world and its more than 200 exotic birds. The aviary is just one of the attractions in this interactive environment where visitors can frolic with dolphins or feed tropical birds that land on their arms.
A veteran animal trainer who has appeared in SeaWorld shows and on Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures, Kasper recently traveled the country with Anheuser Busch animal ambassador Julie Scardina on a national media blitz to promote the park, which opened in July.
For Cecily Brose, the main ingredient in food is innovation. An R&D food scientist for Kraft, she works with a team of researchers, engineers and marketing specialists to develop new food products. In addition, she handles brand maintenance for the company's DiGiorno pasta line. At the industry-giant's headquarters in suburban Chicago, she's located at the core of Kraft technology and frequently can be found in the state-of-the-art pilot plant.
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Mark McKraig's commute is just a short distance from his house to the family farm. "I've always enjoyed the outdoors and working with animals," he says. "I knew that I would be coming back to the farm." (Photo by Tom Campbell) |
More than a year after graduating, Ryan McCarthy is still sitting in lecture halls. A second-year medical student at Indiana University, his coursework includes such heavyweight subjects as neuroanatomy, medical genetics and pharmacology. His Indianapolis apartment is strategically located across the street from the medical school. And while he still has plenty of time to decide, he's leaning toward a specialization in surgery.
Karen Davis battles rush-hour traffic with thousands of other commuters on I-270, a 55-mile oval that surrounds Columbus, Ohio, en route to a suburban industrial park. As a design engineer for Siemens Building Technologies, Davis translates mechanical specifications into heating, ventilation and air-conditioning control systems for commercial buildings like office complexes, hospitals and schools.
When Mark McKaig entered Purdue as an animal science production major, he already knew what he would be doing when he graduated four years later. McKaig returned to his home in north central Indiana to join his father and uncle on the family's farm, which includes a herd of 110-120 dairy cows and 700 acres in crops. And while the operation runs seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, he believes that working with family gives him more overall freedom and a better reception for new ideas than he would find with another employer.
Although they are all on very different career paths, Kasper, Brose, McCarthy, Davis and McKaig have at least one thing in common. They all earned degrees in Purdue Agriculture.
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