SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE
A CLASSROOM IS JUST
A S TA R T I N G P O I N T
The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS)
administers the degree programs of the University of Florida’s
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).
COLLEGE OF
AGRICULTURAL
AND LIFE
SCIENCES
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CALS, CONTACT OUR MAIN OFFICE AT
(352) 392-1963 OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.CALS.UFL.EDU
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INSTITUTION
07/15
MOST
PEOPLE
THINK THEY
KNOW US
Because agriculture is a part of our name and mission,
some people assume UF’s College of Agricultural and
Life Sciences (CALS) is a place where students only
learn to be farmers or ranchers. But there are other
people who know CALS is much more than that! With
23 undergraduate majors and more than 50 areas of
specialization, we’re an educational leader offering
both traditional and non-traditional tracks, from
agricultural education to pre-med. CALS is a starting
point that can branch in all directions; we give you the
knowledge and experience to achieve your life’s goals,
and set you on the path to exciting, rewarding careers
in fields you’ve never imagined. On the pages that
follow, current and former students show how they
have taken their CALS experience into the real world
to achieve success.
SOME PEOPLE
LEARN MORE WHEN
T H E Y ’ R E N OT I N C L A S S
ASHLEY DIMARCO
UNDERGRADUATE
MAJORING IN BIOLOGY
Ashley DiMarco chose CALS because
its biotechnology electives and smaller
class sizes allowed her to prepare for
graduate study and research in cell
biology. What she didn’t bargain on were
the many opportunities to learn outside
the classroom. Since enrolling in CALS,
she’s interned with Nanotherapeutics, Inc.,
joined the Alpha Zeta Honors Fraternity,
and received a scholarship to study abroad
in Italy. For Ashley, CALS has turned out to
be the perfect choice: “It’s everything you
ever wanted from the University of Florida,
and more!”
SOME PEOPLE
ARE HELPING US SEE
THE BIG PICTURE
ERIN FREEL
B.S., CLASS OF 1996
Owner/President | The Market Place
When Erin Freel was an undergraduate in
CALS, she realized that agriculture didn’t
just need producers and scientists—it also
needed storytellers. From that insight she
used her experience with the CALS chapter
of the Agricultural Communicators of
Tomorrow and with the Florida Strawberry
Growers Association to create The Market
Place, a marketing and video production
company that helps people within the
agriculture industry tell their stories.
Now she’s producing videos and websites
for some of the leading companies and
organizations in the country.
SOME PEOPLE
TA K E A G O O D H U N C H
ST R A I G H T TO S U C C E S S
RAHIM REMTULLA, M.D.
B.S., CLASS OF 2002
M.S., CLASS OF 2003
Physician | U niversity of Pittsburgh
Cancer Institute
Rahim Remtulla’s mother was a little
nervous when the University of Florida
was the only school her son applied to.
But Rahim had a good feeling that CALS
was the best place to start his career.
The nutritional sciences program in CALS
set him on the path to medical school,
which eventually led to his appointment
as a staff physician on Capitol Hill. Today,
Rahim specializes in hematology and
oncology at the University of Pittsburgh
Cancer Institute.
SOME PEOPLE
A R E W O R K I N G TO M A K E
T H E W O R L D A S A F E R P L AC E
JONATHAN DUMAS
B.S., CLASS OF 2011
Program Analyst | USDA-APHIS
Jonathan Dumas learned about caring
for living things through his involvement
in 4-H and FFA. Livestock and poultry
judging competitions introduced him to
UF’s animal sciences department. Right
away he knew that CALS was where he
wanted to be, among other people who
grew up around animals and deeply cared
for their welfare. Jonathan’s involvement
in the CALS Leadership Institute gave him
the team-building skills that prepared him
for a career in the nation’s capitol. Today,
his CALS experience serves him in one of
the most important jobs in the country—
protecting the safety of our livestock and
food supply with the USDA’s Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service.
DEIRDRE HILLIARD
B.S., CLASS OF 2013
Category Development Analyst | H.J. Heinz Co.
SOME PEOPLE
THINK FOOD IS MORE THAN
A M AT T E R O F TA ST E
If there’s one thing that Deirdre Hilliard learned as a
CALS student, it’s that food is serious business, with
the power to drive economies and change the world.
Her coursework in food and resource economics gave
Deirdre the detailed knowledge to achieve success as a
food market analyst, while her experience as an officer
in the Agricultural Economics Club gave her leadership
and communication skills she now puts to use every
day, researching consumer trends and developing new
product markets for H.J. Heinz.
SOME PEOPLE
S U C C E E D BY U S I N G B OT H
SIDES OF THEIR BRAINS
BRYAN BAYSINGER
B.S., CLASS OF 2008
Patent Attorney | Schoenthaler Law Group
As a CALS student, Bryan Baysinger
discovered a passion for both life sciences
and social sciences. The flexibility of the
CALS curriculum allowed him to gain a
foundation in environmental science while
pursuing his interest in forensic rhetoric.
His diverse coursework and experiences in
laboratory and scientific settings opened
more doors than he ever expected, and
today he brings his CALS experience to
the courtroom as a patent attorney for
Schoenthaler Law Group in Atlanta.
SOME PEOPLE
ANSWER THE CALL
OF THE WILD
SAMANTHA BARAOIDAN
B.S., CLASS OF 2014
Biological Scientist | F lorida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission
Samantha Baraoidan knew that she wanted
to devote her life to conserving wildlife,
and she had no doubt that CALS was
the right place for her. The experience
she gained with CALS, including her
honors thesis research, an IFAS Extension
internship, and a semester studying and
interning in Swaziland, helped take her
career to the next level. Now she works as
a biological scientist, researching upland
habitats with the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission.
KELLY MOSLEY
B.S., CLASS OF 2004
Career and Technical Education Specialist | Business Owner
SOME PEOPLE
A R E B R I N G I N G AG R I C U LT U R E
TO A N E W G E N E R AT I O N
Kelly Mosley grew up on a farm and had been involved in
4-H since she was young, so agriculture was already in her
blood. But as a CALS student, she learned that her passion
for agriculture was something that could be sparked in
others. Through her coursework in agricultural education and
communication, and her experience as a CALS Ambassador and
club president, she developed the knowledge and confidence
to forge her own career as an educator. Today, when she’s not
working with Career and Technical Education teachers in public
schools, she and her husband operate an agri-tourism business
on their farm, lighting the spark of curiosity and enthusiasm for
nature in the next generation.
SOME PEOPLE
F I N D B I G R E WA R D S I N
THE SMALL THINGS
ANTHONY RIGGIO
B.S., CLASS OF 2014
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
For Anthony Riggio, CALS offered a chance to turn a
childhood hobby into the basis for a career in medicine.
He’d been collecting bugs with his father since he was a kid,
and when he learned about the entomology program during
UF’s New Student Convocation, he made insects the focus
of his academic career. “I loved that the major offered small
class sizes where students can interact with one another and
the professors in a way not possible in larger classes,” he
said. Anthony graduated from UF in 2014 and now attends
Columbia’s College of Dental Medicine.
SOME PEOPLE
As you can see, there are many career options within
the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Our
students can pursue a wide variety of careers with the
degrees we offer and are given the tools for success
through the support of our faculty, staff and programs.
ARE GATORS