Florida A&M University College of Agriculture and Food Sciences 2019 Magazine

by Cynthia Portalatin

RACHEL FERNANDEZ, a junior animal science major, says being a part of global agriculture at Florida A&M University (FAMU) has made her time in college extraordinary.

“The college has provided me with many exceptional opportunities since my enrollment at FAMU. I have been able to travel abroad and domestically more than I ever imagined this past year, and I can only imagine the opportunities to come,” said Fernandez.

Fernandez was recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship by the Florida Association for Food Protection (FAFP) for demonstrating a passion and an interest in food safety. She credits her international agriculture experience to the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences (CAFS) as a key part of her success in earning the award.

“Rachel’s participation in the CAFS AGG 4952 Service Learning in International Agriculture course, with a service experience in the Dominican Republic, was key in her being invited to the FAFP’s Annual Educators Conference to present a paper and poster on her service experience. Rachel and the other global agriculture minor students in the course, assisted our food safety content specialists in carrying out one of the first Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) assessments in the Dominican Republic during summer 2018,” said Harriett Paul, director of FAMU CAFS Center for International Agricultural Trade Development Research and Training, and the Service Learning course instructor.

“I was so appreciative to have the opportunity to present to the association on the study that I supported in the Dominican Republic, which happens to be the home country of my family,” says Fernandez.

Her presentation, “Building Food Safety Modernization Act Capacity in Dominican Packinghouses,” detailed the FSMA assessment conducted by the CIATDRT during the summer of 2018 in collaboration with the Universidad ISA and the International Executive Service Corps. The assessment helped to determine the readiness of nine pack houses selected to participate in the study for FSMA compliance, as may be required by their U.S. importers. Fernandez took on a leadership role by serving as a Spanish translator during the on-site technical team interviews with pack house management. Last summer, she also completed a “Train the Trainer” course on produce safety provided by the University of Florida’s Southern Regional Center’s FSMA training program.

“Being able to travel to different countries and U.S. cities and states this past year, has opened my eyes to the possibilities for me as a professional. I have come to learn that as an animal scientist, I am preparing myself for a career on the global stage. The value that my minor in global agriculture adds through the international exposures, is that I can clearly see that I am building my capacity to work globally, to include having a career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a foreign service officer,” said Fernandez.