Lincoln, Neb. —A girl growing up with a curiosity for the world, Erin Willats loves research.
Willats, a junior majoring in food technology for companion animals on the pre-veterinary track, found her passion for research during her current internship at Petsource by Scoular.
Looking to thoroughly explore her major in preparation for veterinary school, Willats reached out to a UNL professor who connected her to Petsource.
At Petsource, Willats is a research and innovation associate, allowing her to support all departments within Petsource. Throughout her life, Willats independently conducted research about things she was simply curious about, and Petsource allows her personal inspiration for research to continue. The research at Petsource does present a learning curve since Willats must display research results for mass audience understanding as well as for empirical academic audiences.
“It definitely was a different experience doing research for this company, because once you do the research, it’s not just like ‘OK I have the information that’s the end of it.’ It’s creating PowerPoints, creating different displays to look at and to understand the research that I’m doing,” said Willats.
Initially, Willats saw Petsource as an opportunity to expand her resume, but quickly realized this internship means far more. Through this internship, she applies classroom knowledge directly to her work. “It’s been super amazing, and I hope to continue learning in that way and making the connections between the classroom and work so I can really full circle everything,” Willats said.
The areas of workplace, research, and new knowledge of dog food combine making this internship one-in-a-million for Willats. She enjoys Petsource as she has learned and grown with her co-workers -- the value employees feel in the workplace has been second to none.
“In the span that I was working there, I felt so important, and I felt so wanted that it made it easy to go into work and super hard to leave. It just has been absolutely wonderful working for this company,” she said.
Willats’ research exemplified her experience by allowing a deeper understanding of nutrition and dog food formulation that, without this internship, she would not have gained. “When you look at dog food it’s so easy to see dog food, but the projects behind the curtain are so specific and intense. It’s honestly so amazing just to see how the puzzle fits together,” Willats explains.
Through the Petsource internship, Willats learned so much and hopes to continue expanding her knowledge during the remainder of her Petsource internship. The connections made, knowledge gained, and opportunities presented have made Petsource a life-changing experience for Willats.
“Petsource truly has been a life-changing experience for me and I wouldn’t have wanted to start off October of last year any other way,” said Willats.