Ep. 039 - [Graduate Student Series] Different Major, Same Food Enthusiasm with Eleni Galata, Graduate Student at University of Missouri

Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast with me, Adam Yee, where we showcase amazing food schools and interview the passionate people who drive the industry forward and this is episode 39!

First I gotta say, welcome home

This is out final interview for the graduate series and I wanted to interview someone kind of different. Though most of our interviewees are Food Science related in some way, I wanted to get somone a bit different. Eleni Galata studies Agriculture Communications at the University of Missorui and I am so glad I did this interview.

Eleni talks about a lot of processes that are easy to follow. So easy to follow I mapped it out on the show notes.

We also talk a lot about media such as how GMOs are being perceived by the media and how the best social networks aren’t necessarily about how much money people shove up their accounts, but what matters is that people just have to show that they care.

So yea, this is the final interview, I will be distilling and summing up these interviews next episodes in kind of a recap form. Till then, enjoy this one, you are going to learn a lot

If you enjoyed this episode, please, sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com, like us on facebook,  rate and review on itunes, and share with your friends. If you show interest in being interviewed, know someone who would be a great interviewer, or would like to join our team of volunteers, make sure to email us at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com.

About Eleni Galata

My name is Eleni Galata, and I'm a phd student in Ag and Applied Economics in University of Missouri-Columbia. My work has to do with how people search and share information about food technology, and I study how food advocacy networks can reach important people more efficiently. In my family we always spoke Greek and Russian and since I was a kid, I learned that context matters: Just because one word exists in both languages, just the translation will not always represent identical meanings. I'm a cat-mom and cannot hide my fascination for the Thanksgiving Holiday Tradition or the Mid-West.

Key Takeaways

- Why Eleni decided to go to the United States (money reasons) and why she wanted to focus her education - How to find your ideal university: Find universities à Find professor’s publications -->  Contact them via email --> Contact via skype or such --> Establish a relationship and ask questions --> Research what other people did after graduation --> Talk to your personal network - How Eleni’s contact at a conference got her into graduate school - How the Media Reported the Impact of GMO foods. Even though there’s more data that GMOs are not bad, reporters did not change their perspective on GMOs - How successful organizations in the food area win at social media. The most successful companies are not putting more resources in social media, but they are making it more caring and personal. - Why you should work with your adviser to find funding

Question Summary

Favorite Thing About Your Univeristy: The university cares for its students such as health and wellness. Difference about Greece Education: In Greece, you should be able to know what you want to be Advice: Be proactive when networking, It’s a big yet small world, It’s hard not to be biased, We are the average of the 5 people we contact Best Part of Being a Graduate Student: You have a lot of freedom Worst Part of Being  Graduate Student: You have a lot of freedom… What would you ask your past self?: It’s fine if you don’t know what you do, but don’t waste your time Favorite Quote: Does the fish know that it’s wet? Probably not, but it’s wet.

What We Talk About

Greece International Welcome Party Spanakopita –Spinach Pie Galaktoboureko– Milk, Sugar, Greek Pie International Economics and Politics Masters in Agriculture (in Greece) University in Netherlands Agricultural Economics GMO foods Fake News Student Success Center Fellow in other Universities (you can renew them)

 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices