Food Protection Trends - November/December 2022 - 511

Our Experiences (continued)
I am very appreciative for the opportunity to attend IAFP 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Not
only was this my first time attending this prestigious meeting, but it was also my first time traveling to
the U.S., indeed a lifetime experience that wouldn't have been possible without the Student Travel
Scholarship.
Tlaleo Azael Marole
University of Pretoria
Pretoria, South Africa
The greatest highlight of the conference for me was meeting my IAFP mentor, Dr. Leon Gorris,
who introduced me to the IAFP Executive Board Members including the current and some Past
Presidents, the incoming Secretary, colleagues, and leading food safety experts working in my field
of study. The 2022 Annual Meeting was the biggest food safety conference I have ever attended,
and I was thrilled to meet and network with different food safety experts from industry, academia,
and government. Each session at the conference presented an exciting dynamic which made it difficult
to choose sessions to attend among the plethora offered. I greatly enjoyed the poster session as
I was able to interact with many researchers in my field of interest. I also found technical sessions
to be more informative and interesting.
It was pleasing to see IAFP's support for the African continent on food safety during the ACAFP
(African Continental Association for Food Protection) Affiliate Meeting, which I was fortunate to
attend. My second-best highlight of the conference was the special session (SS1) on " Get-Connected
Market: Connecting IAFP Professionals on Food Safety in Africa, " where I was invited by
Dr. Gorris to participate as one of the marketeers. During this special session, I had the opportunity
to connect with different food safety professionals who shared important ideas and solutions on how I can achieve my goals
of helping my country of Lesotho in establishing its own food safety regulations. I am grateful to the organizers of
this session,
especially Dr. Gorris, Dr. Lucia Anelich, and IAFP.
My third highlight of the conference was the Foundation Booth, where I had an opportunity to volunteer, meet, and thank in
person the generous contributors who continue to support IAFP, making it possible for enthusiastic food safety researchers and
professionals like me to grow and succeed. I will forever be grateful to IAFP for the 2022 Student Travel Scholarship Award. For
food safety career growth, best experiences, global networking, and new insights, I encourage all students in food safety who
have never attended IAFP's Annual Meeting to apply for this travel scholarship.
I am extremely grateful and honored to have been selected as a 2022 Student Travel Scholarship
recipient. Having never attended any in-person conferences prior to IAFP 2022, I did not know
what to expect but was thrilled to be finally attending and presenting a poster on my research. What
I experienced at the Annual Meeting blew me away! Starting from day one at the Welcome Reception,
my mentor, Dr. Felix Osofo, immediately introduced me to numerous food safety professionals
who were all supportive and interested in my work. Each day after, I spoke with dozens of people
from government, industry, and academia who were all more than happy to assist me with career
planning or discuss specific questions about my research. Every single individual who I spoke with
or interacted with made me feel welcomed and supported. I ended each day of the conference feeling
energized by all the incredible people I was meeting and feeling so lucky to be a part of it all.
I was able to attend many seminars, roundtable discussions, and short presentations by fasciJennifer
Mydosh
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
nating researchers. It was honestly hard to select which ones I was going to attend because there
were so many I wanted to go to each day! Some of my favorites were the roundtable discussions
where audience members could ask questions of a panel of highly distinguished food safety professionals
and the symposium on outbreaks relating to fungi. I also spent time viewing the student
posters and visiting with representatives in the Exhibit Hall each day, which presented me with the
opportunity to speak about my own career goals and get feedback on what my next steps should
be. There was never a dull moment throughout the whole conference, and the whole experience
broadened my entire outlook on a career in food safety.
IAFP opened the doors for me to a whole new community of food safety professionals who are selfless in their willingness
to support me in my research and help further my career. I could not be happier with the experience that I had at IAFP 2022,
and I am counting down the days until IAFP 2023 in Toronto, Canada!
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November/December Food Protection Trends 511

Food Protection Trends - November/December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - November/December 2022