GSD Leadership

Welcome to the ADSA Graduate Student Division (GSD)! My name is Bethany Dado-Senn, and I am an animal sciences PhD student at the University of Florida, where I study lactation physiology under Jimena Laporta. Specifically, I study heat stress and its effect on dry cows, lactating cows, and preweaned heifers. I am originally from Wisconsin (America’s Dairyland!), where I grew up on a 450-cow dairy farm, Four Hands Holsteins, with my family.

I have been a member of the ADSA-GSD since 2016, when my participation started with meeting attendance and, upon witnessing the amazing benefits of the program, blossomed into this leadership role. I am currently serving as vice president and Career Development Committee chair. My main responsibilities include planning career development webinars available to graduate students throughout the year, maintaining and updating the MyDairy Career web portal, and coordinating the annual Career Luncheon hosted at the ADSA annual meeting. These events are educational and build career knowledge, so I encourage you to explore, attend, and reach out to me if you have any questions or would like to see specific topics covered. The ADSA-GSD is an excellent tool to meet fellow graduate students, expand your knowledge and networking skills outside the classroom, and begin the next steps toward a rewarding dairy science career. Personally, all my contacts outside the universities I have attended have been made through connections in ADSA-GSD. I highly recommend investing your time into this program—it will pay back exponentially!

My name is Heather Keefer (McCain), and I was born and raised in Santa Clarita, California. I received my bachelor of science degree in food science at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo in June 2016. I am currently a master’s student in the dairy laboratory at North Carolina State University working under MaryAnne Drake. I was first introduced to the inner workings of the dairy industry during the summer of 2015 when I had an internship with Darigold in Portland, Oregon, and I then knew I wanted to go to a dairy-focused laboratory for graduate school. When Donald McMahon introduced me to MaryAnne Drake through BUILD dairy, I knew it was a perfect fit. I started working under Drake in September 2016. When I graduate, I hope to pursue a career in sensory science in relation to dairy ingredients.

I have only been a member of ADSA GSD since 2017, yet I’ve already been amazed by all the benefits. GSD has helped me connect with so many people in dairy science and provides a lot of career development opportunities. I am currently the dairy foods director of GSD and the head of the Social Events Committee. The Social Events Committee plans the GSD mixer at the annual meeting for graduate students. Although it is a bit of work to plan and coordinate everything, you get to enjoy the results of your hard work with a fun GSD mixer while getting event planning experience along the way. GSD has so many amazing benefits, so do not be afraid to dive in and volunteer for a committee.

Hi everyone!

My name is Miriam Snider, and I am originally from the bootheel of Southeast Missouri. I completed dual bachelor’s degrees in animal science and molecular biology at Southeast Missouri State University and completed my master’s in animal science at the University of Kentucky. I am currently a first-year PhD student at the University of Vermont, studying ruminant nutrition. My primary research focus is on pasture–forage profiles and how they affect rumen kinetics, digestion, fermentation, and methane emissions in organic, grass-fed dairy cattle. Although my prior research primarily focused on beef cattle nutrition, I am passionate about the dairy industry and ways to improve producer and farm sustainability.

I am a relatively new member of ADSA and GSD, but I am excited to serve as both the secretary and chair of the Communications Committee for GSD. The Communications Committee plays an important role in keeping current (and future) GSD members up to date with what is going on with ADSA and GSD. The Communications Committee tries to reach out to current and future GSD members about upcoming events and webinars, meetings, current research, and industry news through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. If you are interested in serving on the Communications Committee or have questions, concerns, or general suggestions, please feel free to reach out to me (Miriam.Snider@uvm.edu) or look for us on social media!

Even as a fairly new member of GSD, I have already formed important relationships outside of my own university and department. By exposure to new people and new ideas, I have learned so much and broadened my horizons. Most of the connections and networking opportunities I have made are because I have joined GSD and am active on the board. It has also been exciting to learn about research outside of my own area, whether it be in food science or cow comfort. Not only has GSD helped expose me to new research, people, and ideas, but it is helping me build leadership skills and allowing me to work together with a diverse team that brings different ideas to the table. I feel like being involved in GSD has made me a more well-rounded researcher. GSD is what you make it; if you put a lot of work and effort into it, the rewards will be great. I encourage GSD members to get actively involved, whether as a committee member or a member of the GSD board.

Hello, thanks for taking some time to read my bio! My name is Hugo Monteiro, and I am a third-year PhD student and research assistant at the University of Florida, under the mentorship of Antonio Faciola. I graduated with a degree in animal sciences from the State University of Maringá (Brazil), with exchange studies at the University of Nevada (Reno) and at the US Dairy Forage Research Center (Madison, WI), places where I did most of my undergraduate research for dairy cows. Currently, my research is on direct-fed microbials for ruminants, and my main goal is to study direct-fed microbials that can alleviate ruminal disorders, such as subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) in dairy cattle and acute acidosis in beef cattle.

I attended my first ADSA annual meeting in 2014 and presented part of my undergraduate research. I found it amazing how ADSA works to connect academia and industry and to advance knowledge in dairy science at the same time. Since then, I have learned the ADSA also helps graduate students in achieving their goals through the Graduate Student Division (GSD). Time passed, and now as a treasurer and chair of the Fundraising Committee of GSD, I am thrilled with the opportunity to make this even better. I invite graduate students, university professors and scientists, and industry representants to join us on this journey. We need funds to provide professional development and other events for graduate students and for our successful graduate student events at the ADSA annual meetings. We can do so much for so many over the world; however, we need your help. Contact us, and be one more to be the change!

Thank you and let me know if you have any questions!

Welcome to our awesome Graduate Student Division (GSD) of ADSA! My name is Maryam Enteshari, and I am currently doing my PhD studies in dairy science with a major in manufacturing at South Dakota State University under the supervision of Sergio Martinez-Monteagudo. My projects are focused on valorization of dairy by-products and converting lactose to value-added substances. I did my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in food science and technology, and then, I worked three years in the dairy and food industry as a food technologist in an R&D center. My deep passion for formulating new food products and promoting the health of human beings through healthy dairy food products encouraged me to pursue a higher degree in dairy science.

My membership with GSD-ADSA started in 2016 when I submitted my abstract for the ADSA annual meeting. The advantages of GSD membership, such as access to free webinars and myDairy Career and, most importantly, connecting with other dairy scholars globally, inspired me to join GSD. Getting updates from the GSD Advisory Council and following the news and posts on the GSD-ADSA Facebook page gave me the opportunity to apply for the dairy foods director position and serve as the chair of the Communication Committee from 2017 to 2018. I am proud to say that being on the GSD Advisory Council has been one of the most fruitful collaborations in my educational career. The GSD leadership empowered me to network with dairy peers and professionals from academia and industry, and we built a great platform on which dairy graduate students can explore their career opportunities.

In 2018–2019, I voluntarily collaborated with the Communication Committee chair and shared the latest trends about dairy processing and new dairy products via social media: GSD web pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. My extreme eagerness to continue my collaboration with the GSD Advisory Council and fellow graduate students motivated me to serve as dairy foods director of GSD-ADSA for the second time in 2019–2020.

My main responsibilities are creating a community of dairy graduate students and scholars using social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram; sharing the recent dairy-food trends; posting about webinars and free educational events; and planning networking and social events at the annual meeting (i.e., Social Mixer and Student Farm or Industry Tours).

I highly recommend joining GSD-ADSA if you want to be a brilliant dairy specialist with a bright future for your career!

Hey everyone! My name is Ben Saylor, and I am a fourth-generation Arizona native currently in my third year as a PhD student at the University of Florida. Advised by Luiz Ferraretto, my research focuses on factors that influence a cow’s ability to utilize starch as well as strategies to improve the quality and digestibility of corn silage and high-moisture corn. I received my MS in ruminant nutrition from Kansas State University, where I studied the inclusion of drought-tolerant forages in dairy cattle diets, and my BS from the University of Arizona. When I am not in the lab or in the field, I can be found exploring the great state of Florida with my wife, Joy, and our two-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer, Konza.

I have been a member of the ADSA Graduate Student Division (ADSA-GSD) since I started at Kansas State in 2015. I am so thankful for the educational, social, and professional opportunities that ADSA-GSD has provided for me over the years. Being an active ADSA-GSD member has certainly enhanced my career as a graduate student. This year, I am excited to serve you all as the ADSA-GSD dairy production director and chair of the Education Committee. As dairy production director, I am responsible for representing the needs of our members with an interest in dairy production. As chair of the Education Committee, I will be advertising relevant educational materials that I feel are of value to graduate students, scheduling webinars on dairy foods and dairy production topics throughout the year, and organizing educational workshops and seminars, such as the Three-Minute Thesis Challenge, for the 2020 ADSA Annual Meeting in West Palm Beach, Florida!

I highly encourage all of you to get involved with ADSA-GSD this year. You’ll be glad you did. Here’s to a great year!