15 Extraordinary Students Recognized with 2018 FMI Foundation Food Safety Auditing Scholarship

ARLINGTON, VA– The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Foundation in conjunction with the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI) recognized 15 recipients of the 2018 Food Safety Auditing Scholarship and Education Travel Grant  at the SQF International Conference. 

The scholarship recognizes exemplary students enrolled in a university food and agricultural science program who are interested in pursuing a career in food systems auditing. The FMI Foundation received over 60 scholarship applications this year – 27 PhD candidates, 18 pursuing Masters and 15 in their junior and senior university programs.

“We are very excited to have expanded the scholarship to recognize five additional recipients this year. This program has received an enormous amount of interest, reflecting students’ passions in pursuing food safety auditing careers,” Susan Borra, RD, executive director, FMI Foundation. “The FMI Foundation thrilled to help these outstanding candidates meet their professional goals.”

Senior Vice President of the Safe Quality Food Institute Robert Garfield commented, “Emboldening a culture of food safety starts at the top in any company, so we are passionate at SQFI to foster these growth opportunities for our future leaders. Auditors are on the front lines of maintaining food safety and quality at all operations and manufacturing facilities around the world, which benefits global food safety as a whole, and in turn benefits us all as consumers.” 

The recipients of the 2018 FMI Foundation Food Safety Auditing Scholarship are:

• Abimbola Allison, Tennessee State University
• Amadeus Ahnan, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Carmen Cano Roca, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Christina Hunter, Bay Path University
• Conner McDaniel, Oklahoma State University
• Erika Estrada, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Ewa Pietrysiak, Washington State University
• Franklin Bonilla, Louisiana State University
• Gayathri Gunathilaka, Michigan State University
• Katheryn Parraga, Louisiana State University
• Loron Pinnock Brown, Texas Tech University
• Michelle Duong, Cornell University
• Pratiksha Timalsina, University of Wisconsin-Stout
• Shiyu Cai, The Ohio State University
• Vijay Chhetri, Louisiana State University

Each winner receives a $3,000 scholarship with an all-expense paid trip to the SQF International Conference to network with more than 850 food safety professionals in attendance. For additional information about the FMI Foundation and the Scholarship program visit FMI.org/Foundation. For information about Safe Quality Food Institute visit SQFI.com.

For Media: From left to right: Pratiksha Timalsina; Vijay Chhetri; Conner McDaniel; Shiyu Cai; Loron Pinnock Brown; Abimbola Allison; Franklin Bonilla; Christina Hunter; Katheryn Parraga; Ewa Pietrysiak; Michelle Duong; Erika Estrada; Carmen Cano Roca; and Amadeus Ahnan.