Michelle Jones

Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Michelle Jones, I live in Brooklyn, New York, I'm the president and CEO of MJ Food Consulting, and I'm a Wildcat.

I decided to go back to school because I wanted to pursue a higher position in food manufacturing, and in order to do so, I had to have a master's degree. I chose K-State because they are regarded as one of the best universities in food science. I also decided to go back to K-State because of my undergrad studies and the experiences I had with the professors, the curriculum, the facilities – everything was the best.

The main difference was that I was there when I was on campus and I was here when I was doing distance learning. The professors were still available the same as they would be if I was on campus, I got the same attention I did when I was on campus, just the physical factor was the only thing that differed. But everything else was the same.

The distance component was very important to me because of my career at the time. I started when I was in food manufacturing, and my hours would vary from month to month, some days work in the morning, sometimes work at night. If I was in a traditional school, that would have really caused a conflict and I would not have been able to finish. But with the distance component, it adjusted with my schedule and there were no interruptions in my studies.

I have so many more options now. I can go into any field of manufacturing or any aspect of food and be able to apply myself. It's also changed my life in the way that I can pursue my entrepreneurial business, I can pursue being a food consultant and have that in my background and have confidence when I deal with new clients, that I do have a master's in food science, and that I am qualified.

I am providing restaurants with health inspection visits that are not real health inspections. I give them the information, everything they need to know, but they are not penalized for what I find. And so it's basically giving them an objective view of their establishment so that they can make their restaurant comply with New York City health inspections.

I would definitely recommend the online food science program to anyone, because more than likely, someone who wants to pursue that is in food manufacturing or some dealings with food, and their schedules would be just as crazy as mine was. It's so flexible, you cannot fail, and it's the best thing I've ever done.

Quick Facts about the Food Science Master's Degree Program

Degree: Master of Science
College: College of Agriculture
Description: Advanced program for those in the food industry
Course delivery: Online
Application requirements: Bachelor's degree with 3.0 minimum GPA and completion of specific courses*
Admission to K-State Graduate School
Completion requirements: 28 credit hours and Report Option
OR 22-24 credit hours and Thesis Option
3.0 GPA

Master's Degree in Food Science
Brooklyn, New York

After earning her bachelor's degree in food science on campus at K-State, Michelle went straight into the food manufacturing industry. But her entrepreneurial spirit led her to crave more knowledge, so she went back to K-State, this time online. Michelle found that the professors and students were just as easy to work with online as they were on campus, which was an asset while working a hectic schedule in the food industry. Once she finished the program, Michelle began her own food consultant business, MJ Food Consultant, and her client list grows every week. She says that going back to K-State for her master's degree is the best decision she's ever made.