Editor’s note: Esi Sawyer created a gluten-free flourless dessert for Carrabba’s during her internship and her food science research was featured at a conference in Rome earlier this year. Now the spring 2019 FAMU College of Agriculture and Food Sciences grad has been accepted into a master’s program in France. She has started a Gofundme campaign to help with expenses. Here is her story:

Food is the thing I love the most because it unites the whole world. Issues are solved, relationships are built, and conflicts are resolved when people come together to break bread. I was introduced to the world of food by a chemistry teacher in high school; she showed me that food and science can go hand in hand.

Next, I spent eight years working as a chef, asking science questions about food to anyone who would listen. Then I found the food science program at FAMU, which I recently graduated from in May 2019 with my bachelor’s degree in Food Science.

In other words, I have spent my adult life learning about, making, tasting, and creating food. My career goal is to work as a product developer so that I can help shape global trends with my knowledge and culinary skills.

Rising global issues in the food industry seem overwhelming considering that by 2050 there will be 9 billion people on the earth. How do we feed 9 billion people and feed them well when we are already struggling to feed the 7 billion people currently on the earth? I think a master’s degree in sustainable product development will help give me the right educational background to take part in fixing that global issue.

Celiac disease is also a current food issue that companies are having to deal with. During a recent internship, I was able to develop a flourless chocolate cake for a large-scale restaurant chain. My objective during this 11-week internship was to show that making gluten-free food could be delicious and profitable.

When I returned to school, I was able to turn the dish I developed into a research project with the help of one of the faculty members. My research project was accepted and featured as an e-poster at a Food Science and Nutrition Conference in Rome, Italy, in February 2019.

I moved to Tallahassee May 2015 where I started school at TCC, while there I was a STEM scholar, and I was on Honor or Dean’s list every semester. In January 2017 I transferred to FAMU where I received the transfer scholarship, while in school I stayed on the Honor’s list every semester.

One of the qualities that draw me to the ISA Lille Food Science Master’s program is how many internships are required in order to graduate. In culinary school, education was based on bookwork and practical experience. We spent half of our time in a classroom and half our time in the kitchen cooking. I have not found another program across the globe like the one at ISA.

To study and learn about food science in France would be exciting. On June 25, 2019, I was accepted to the Agriculture and Bioengineering Master’s program at Lille Catholic University in France. To be part of the ISA Master’s Program with the practical experience  would be an amazing opportunity.

I am currently trying to secure the resources needed to fill my academic endeavors at ISA Lille. Learn more at GoFundMe link below: https://www.gofundme.com/f/esi-the-sustainable-master&rcid=r01-156294970733-5b19d84aa7014787&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w

Read or Share this story: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/life/food/2019/07/22/famu-grad-aims-expand-culinary-skills/1749005001/