The importance of education
Dr Dan Christiansen. Image: Suzanne Christiansen
One of the issues with education is that often, one doesn’t see the results for years. Students labour away, putting the work in, and then several years later, they’re equipped with knowledge and skills that they can put to use. However, this comes after years of slogging and probably a not inconsiderable sum of money.
Now, my university degree was in English literature, with a minor in journalism. The main thing I got out of my degree was a piece of paper that made things a bit easier for me to get an entry level job, an understanding of the meaning of the Holy Trinity in the novel Moby Dick, along with an appreciation for the works of the 19th century American canon. The knowledge can occasionally find use in a pub quiz too.
That being said, the need to hit a deadline is a skill I use every day, along with the extrapolation of information and the processing of this knowledge into reasonable output for the magazine and website. So, I can’t complain.
And so, to the news that an apprenticeship awards ceremony where Sharlene Harrison of Müller Milk & Ingredients collected her two awards, one for outstanding apprentice of the year, and the other for higher level apprentice of the year, at Reaseheath University’s Eden programme.
Having seen the work apprentices do here in publishing (ours is much more productive and focused than I was at her age), it is quite a feat and Harrison is rightly chuffed with her gongs. The Eden programme continues to help the British dairy industry launch and improve the careers of many dairy folks who enrol on the course. It is also somewhat amazing that they can do this while working full-time.
Lastly, speaking of education, I would like to congratulate my nephew, who now must be called Doctor Dan, having just completed his dissertation at the University of Chicago. The work involved was immense and he did not get his drive from myself, as I ran screaming from the grounds as soon as I finished my undergraduate degree.
- Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
Keep in touch via email: [email protected]
Twitter: @dairyindustries or LinkedIn: Dairy Industries International magazine
