# Exploring Opportunities in Food Science with Prairva (Summer) Plepalakon, UC Davis Food Science and Technology Graduate (#112)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/that-s-a-food-job-7044046/exploring-opportunities-in-food-science-with-prairva-summer-plepalakon-uc-davis-food-science-and-technology-graduate-112
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/that-s-a-food-job-7044046/exploring-opportunities-in-food-science-with-prairva-summer-plepalakon-uc-davis-food-science-and-technology-graduate-112.md
Podcast: [That's A Food Job!](https://stenobird.com/podcast/that-s-a-food-job-7044046)
Published: 2025-08-21T19:11:00+00:00
Episode link: https://foodgradspodcast.libsyn.com/exploring-opportunities-in-food-science-with-prairva-summer-plepalakon-uc-davis-food-science-and-technology-graduate-112
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/foodgradspodcast/Summer_Prairva_Plepalakon_FINAL.mp3?dest-id=2312504
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/that-s-a-food-job-7044046/episodes/exploring-opportunities-in-food-science-with-prairva-summer-plepalakon-uc-davis-food-science-and-technology-graduate-112
Duration seconds: 2773

## Resource

Prairva Plepalakon, also known as "Summer," is a recent Food Science and Technology graduate from the University of California, Davis, one of the most respected food science programs in the world. UC Davis has a big reputation in food science, pairing strong academic programs with deep industry and research networks. In this episode of That's a Food Job! , Summer shares what it's like to study food science at UC Davis and reflects on the co-op positions she's taken on (including one with a company making protein from air). We talk about her advice for students who want to stand out, what she learned from attending the IFT First Conference, and how hands-on experiences have shaped her career goals. Summer was the winner of the Voices of the Future Podcast Challenge we hosted during our visit to IFT First. ** Shownotes Prairva Plepalakon : LinkedIn UC Davis Food Science Program: Website *** #92 – Davis Jaeger, R&D Leader, Culinary Expert and Food Scientist *** SIGN UP FOR WEEKLY FOOD INDUSTRY CAREER TIPS → Sign up for the newsletter *** COOL THINGS TO CHECK OUT 📖 Explore FoodGrads Career Guides (Ebooks) 📜 Get Career Advice (Blog) *** CONNECT 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram 💼 Connect on LinkedIn 🎵 Connect on TikTok 📹 Subscribe on YouTube *** SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 🟢 Leave a rating on Spotify

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/that-s-a-food-job-7044046/episodes/exploring-opportunities-in-food-science-with-prairva-summer-plepalakon-uc-davis-food-science-and-technology-graduate-112/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/that-s-a-food-job-7044046/exploring-opportunities-in-food-science-with-prairva-summer-plepalakon-uc-davis-food-science-and-technology-graduate-112.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.