Kara Sawyer is originally from Monmouth Hills, New Jersey, but she has lived in California, New Mexico, Florida and Italy. Before attending UF, Kara served in the US Navy and lived in La Maddalena, Italy for a few years where she met her husband, Matt, who was also a USP participant. After completing their service, Kara and Matt decided to attend UF. "UF is the only school with the program that was exactly what I was looking for," says Kara. " Also, I knew that a degree from UF carries a lot of recognition around the country since it is a top notch school."

Kara has always had an interest in nutrition, so the food science and human nutrition major offered through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences seemed like the perfect match. "A food science degree goes a step further, by exploring foods themselves, instead of just the reaction foods have in the body. I wanted to learn how foods change from our handling and processing of them, and if there was any way to improve these methods."

Kara's USP project involved making wine from Florida blueberries, and since a lot of work has not been done with the stability of blueberry-derived products, Kara and her mentors decided it was a good topic to pursue. Blueberries are the third most popular fruit in the United States, and they contain more Vitamin A than any other berry. Florida blueberries are the first to ripen in North America, and Kara says making wine from blueberries is very similar to making wine from grapes. "Blueberries and grapes have different acids and sugar contents, and the main difference between blueberry wine and grape wine is the taste," she remarks. "I wouldn't say that one is better than the other, just different. If you didn't know that our blueberry wine was made from blueberries, then you might have thought that it was a unique grape wine."

Kara actually worked with two mentors during her USP research, and she says it doubled her learning. "Working with Dr. Bates and Dr. Talcott was a great experience. Both mentors approached the project uniquely and from different perspectives, which helped my understanding of the project in all of its aspects." Kara plans to return to school one day and pursue her master's degree and Ph.D. "The USP project gave me my first glimpse of doing research in a laboratory setting, and when I attempt advanced degrees, I will be more prepared and know how to organize a research project and write a thesis."

While at UF, Kara was a member of the Food Science and Human Nutrition Club, and she is a member of the National and Florida Institute of Food Technologists. She received the Earl Wilmot Hartt Scholarship, the National Institute of Food Technologists Junior/Senior Scholarship, and she was also honored with the Outstanding Senior Award in Food Science.

Kara and her husband both graduated in May 2001, and they recently welcomed the newest member of the Sawyer family into their home. Kara gave birth this summer to Maddelyn Day Sawyer. For now, Kara plans to stay home with Maddie and learn all about being a full-time mother. "I think I'll take a 'break' from being a full-time student for now."

--top--

Back to the Journal of Undergraduate Research