What do careers in the food & fibre sectors look like?

Esraa El Shall, Ice Cream Innovation Manager

Esraa has always been into science and when she first started Uni she was studying for a Bachelor of Medical Lab Science, but she found it a bit boring.

"I remembered a food technology day we had at school and how interesting it was. Food is everywhere around us and there’s a lot of science that comes with it, so I decided to change my studies".

"I worked on the Kapiti Feijoa and Pear sorbet, which tastes amazing, and people love it, but every time I look at the green ripple through it I think why didn’t I make it a different colour green."

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Ryan Cosgrove, Wool Exporter

You don't need to have grown up on a farm. So long as someone is passionate about working with wool and has cross-creditable skills, there's a place for them.

I loved handling wool in my holiday job - day in and day out. But I knew that trading wool was what I really wanted to do one day. Wool has always seemed like an obvious solution. Its many benefits are well known, it's well researched, it's got a strong story already. I remember thinking during my holiday job "Every alternative fibre is just an imitation of the real thing. How could I NOT be successful at selling wool?"

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Jordan Biddle, Stock Manager

When Jordan was at school he had little inkling that he'd make farming his career choice. But that all changed after starting work part time on farms when he was just fifteen, doing odd jobs such as fencing. The breakthrough came two years later when he was offered a permanent role at Waitaha Station in northern Hawke’s Bay.

His career got a boost after receiving the Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer Award (sheep and beef).

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Rosana Palliser, Business Analyst

Rosana grew up on a family farm and was involved from an early age. Her interest in the farm and strong broad subjects that she took at school in science and maths lead her to study at Massey University.

After university Rosana joined the Fonterra Graduate programme where she has thrived on the variety of the work. The graduate programme involved rotating around different departments to give varied work experience.

She currently works as a Business Analyst at Farm Source. “I am really enjoying my role, where I combine farm support, financial tools and the advice farmers need to grow profitably."

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