This Hilbert native found career success testing food for a prominent corporation.    ​

Heather Beil knew in high school that she wanted to make a career out of working in a lab setting. Fox Valley Technical College helped make that goal a reality.

“I’ve always been intrigued by the sanitation side of working with food,” says the 20-year-old. “Fox Valley Tech’s Lab Science Technician program showed me the proper way to handle food and a lot more.”

Beil attributes her education at FVTC to helping land an internship at McCain Foods in Appleton, an experience that aided her in earning a position as a quality and food safety specialist at Sargento Foods in Hilbert. She graduated in May of 2018 with the offer to work at Sargento already in hand before walking the stage. “The college’s modern labs and caring instructors helped me hit the ground running in the real world,” Beil adds.

Sargento is a leading family-owned company with business divisions dealing in consumer products, along with food service and ingredients. Beil is responsible for monitoring sanitation activities, determining the status of products, conducting lab tests, inspecting finished goods and more for the company’s consumer products division.

One of the things Beil likes about her career is that every day is different. “My job is very versatile,” she notes. “Some days I’m on the computer, and other times may require me to be on the production floor doing applications that ensure compliance.”

Regardless of what she’s doing, according to Beil the best part of her career is working with great people. “This truly is a company that believes in family,” she says.

Lab Science at FVTC 

• Remodeled science building, doubling space to meet growing needs for the food, environmental and paper and  packaging industries
• New credit-transfer agreement with Lakeland University’s Food Safety & Quality program
• 100% graduate employment for Lab Science Technician grads (2018 FVTC Graduate Employment Research Report)