Far West Texas News

Persevering through obstacles to achieve a dream

For Alicia Walker, Ph.D., the road to where she is now was neither easy nor conventional. Living in Mississippi, being a wife and mother to a baby and a 5 year old when she started her poultry science doctoral program in Texas, certainly came with unique challenges. 

But she says she wouldn’t change a single thing.

Walker is a 2022 graduate of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Poultry Science. She recently assumed the role of senior director of quality assurance and food safety-retail with Wayne-Sanderson Farms in Laurel, Mississippi, but has been in the poultry industry for 17 years.

“I didn’t choose poultry science; poultry science chose me,” said Walker.

Prior to attending Texas A&M University, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology and her master’s degree in hazardous material management from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.

Below, Walker shares how the poultry industry found her, the role the department played in that journey and how she triumphed over the obstacles in her path as a nontraditional, distance-learning student.

What do you do?

In my current role, I ensure that quality and food safety standards adhere to customer expectations and support the retail business unit’s organizational policies and objectives. Additionally, I oversee quality assurance managers at all our retail complexes throughout the company.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

The best thing is being part of a team responsible for producing safe, quality products that feed the world. It brings me great joy to walk into a grocery store, see our quality product, and know that I assisted in leading a team to produce it. Additionally, I enjoy leading six talented managers who have been an inspiration and a pleasure to have on my team.

Why did you choose to attend Texas A&M?

I chose Texas A&M after meeting Christine Alvarado, Ph.D., a former faculty member in the department, at a campylobacter bacteria workshop at Auburn University. We connected instantly, and she suggested I apply to the master’s program in poultry science. Since I already had a master’s degree, I decided to pursue a doctorate. Not only did Dr. Alvarado strongly recommend me to apply, but my coworkers also spoke highly of the university and the program. After further research, I found that the school was one of the country’s highest-rated poultry science programs. Due to being employed full time out of state and the university having a hybrid schedule that provides flexibility to the working student, it was a no-brainer that Texas A&M became my school of choice.

What made you choose poultry science?

Poultry science chose me. Never in a million years would I have imagined having a career in poultry science, but it was the best decision ever. When I first went to school, pediatric dentistry was my true passion. After working in the poultry industry for 10 years, pursuing the academic knowledge to support what I fell in love with was only fitting. Since I had a master’s degree, obtaining a doctorate or becoming a veterinarian was the only option to advance my career to the next level with Wayne-Sanderson Farms.

Original source can be found here