As a biochemistry major at SUNY Oneonta, Marie Box has been able to blend two of her favorite things: science and sweets. Her recipe for success? Taking advantage of hands-on learning opportunities, from formulating plant-based desserts during her internship with a local small business to competing internationally with the university’s genetic engineering team. With plans for graduate school, she has her sights set on a future in food science.
Why Oneonta?
It was close to home, so I visited and immediately fell in love with it. I felt like “This is where I’m supposed to be.” And I’m so happy I came here. I think God brought me here for a very special reason. I love the size of Oneonta: It’s not too big and not too small. I see a different new person every day, so I think it’s the perfect size.
My Activities
I’m on SUNY Oneonta’s iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) team, and I’m an active member of Campus Ambassadors, or “CA”, a Christian fellowship group. CA and church are really important to me. It’s where I met all my roommates and close friends, and now I help coordinate meetings, events and retreats.
Best Experiences
I’m doing an internship with a local small business, Vêsucré, that makes vegan, plant-based, gluten-free frozen desserts. It’s exciting because they started small but are now in more than 300 stores and starting to mass-produce! My role is to nail down the science behind their products. It’s very analytical, weighing stuff and finding percentages. Do we need less water? More oil? What can we add to the ingredients to ensure everything is natural and also shelf-stable? I’m in the kitchen with their team three days a week, and it’s been amazing because it’s my two favorite things: Cooking/baking and applying science to that. It’s everything I ever wanted to do in one! Right now, I’m working on perfecting their new “Truffs,” protein-packed double-chocolate truffles.
Another best experience is iGEM, definitely! Being able to work closely with professors that have been in the industry before, working with DNA and modifying it, that was mind-blowing. I got to go to Paris with the team in October to compete at the annual iGEM Grand Jamboree, where we earned a gold medal! That was amazing. I met and networked with so many people doing food science-related things, which was really exciting for me.
About My Major
It’s intense. You have to put in the work. But it’s so rewarding. All of my professors are very nice and easy to talk to, and I’ve become close with them.
Favorite Classes?
I’m currently doing research with Dr. Fred Zalatan, looking at the Ty1 transposable element (a "jumping gene") in baker's yeast and using molecular, cellular and genetic techniques. He is so chill, very down-to-earth, and makes sure you understand what you’re doing in the lab, which makes it so much more fun.
I also loved Senior Seminar with Dr. Ronald Bishop. He’s very encouraging, and we did a lot of mock interviews and presenting in front of faculty and staff, which I feel has really prepared me for going to grad school.
Plans, Goals, Dreams
My Vêsucré internship was validating and showed me that this is exactly what I want to do with my future. I’ve applied to a few of Cornell University’s Food Science graduate programs, including their Ph.D. degree program, and should hear back in the spring.
My dream is to be a food scientist, using chemistry and biology to analyze the nutritional content of food, discover new food sources, and modify foods to make them all-natural and healthier without using anything fake. Say Hershey’s wants to make a new chocolate bar that’s super healthy and low calorie but still tastes good. That’s possible, it’s just harder and time-consuming, and it wouldn’t be as shelf-stable so would have to be sold faster. It would be my dream to work on something like that. A lot of businesses are currently trying to find a replacement for red dye, so that’s something many food scientists are working on right now.
