Falcon Futures: UW-River Falls biochemistry student gets an early start on career

When Annie Loss from Brainerd, Minn., began working on her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, she was expecting to have a bit of a wait to find work in her field.

“I was well prepared for two to three years after graduation to not have a job in chemistry and still be supporting myself as a server,” Loss said. “The job market is so competitive.” 

With one year to go before earning her degree, she learned that Crystal Finishing Systems (CFS) in River Falls was looking to hire a chemical operator. Loss saw a chance to beat the odds and get an early start on her career.

“As soon as I heard about this opportunity from my professor, I thought, ‘Jump on it!’” she said.

The CFS plant in River Falls paints industrial parts that are used in automotive, aerospace and construction industries, said Bruce Whitaker, plant manager, who graduated from UWRF in 1993 with a degree in economics. They coat all types of materials, including plastics, steel and aluminum. Before coating, the parts go through a wash system that cleans and treats the surface to help paint adhere to the material. Whitaker felt the process could be improved by someone with chemical expertise. So, he turned to his alma mater.

“I'd been looking for some time for a full-time chemistry operator,” Whitaker said. “I had the idea of taking advantage of resources right here in our community, that being college students.”

He connected with Blane Huppert, director of the University Business Collaboration Center (UBCC), located in UWRF’s new Science and Technology Innovation Center (SciTech). The new center’s mission is to forge exactly these types of connections. Huppert joined Whitaker for a tour of the plant and a discussion about how CFS and UWRF could work together.

“When Bruce mentioned that some of their processes could use someone with an analytical approach to chemistry, I said, ‘We might have just the person for that,’” Huppert explained. 

According to Whitaker, Loss, who happened to be taking an analytical chemistry class at the time, turned out to be exactly who they were looking for.

“It is, I think, a win-win,” Whitaker said. “It's good for her to get real world experience and we get to bring in her expertise. We're learning a lot from Annie already.” 

In her role at CFS, Loss does testing and monitoring of the chemistries of all the wash stations, making sure that they're up to standards so the parts are washed properly. Loss said the classwork and research projects she has done at UWRF helped prepare her to jump right into the job and make recommendations.

“I feel like I have a lot of lab safety experience,” Loss said. “I’ve done those protocols over and over again during my labs in a professional, controlled area. I can totally apply them here.”

Loss has been working full time through the summer and can continue part time when she is back in school. She said she appreciates the opportunity to learn how industry works and extends her thanks to her analytical chemistry professor, Blair Troudt, for recommending her for the position.

“Her support and guidance have been invaluable,” Loss said. “I’m grateful for the encouragement she has provided throughout my academic journey.”

As a River Falls native and UWRF alum, Whitaker said he finds the collaboration especially rewarding.

“I grew up here and I just like giving back to the community and working with people like Blane,” Whitaker said. “Crystal Finishing as whole values working with the people in the communities where we do business.”

Huppert said the UBCC was created to break down the walls between the university and the community, and Loss’s opportunity is a great example of how that can pay off. He’s looking forward to building on the center’s momentum.

“I'm taking tours around businesses and having conversations,” Huppert said. “I’m looking for comments like, ‘I wish…’ or ‘it would be nice…’ That’s where the magic happens.” 

To learn more about the UBCC, visit uwrf.edu/about/university-business-collaboration-center.