Carmen Licon | 2024
DZTA
Carmen’s Vision
May 2024
It is a sunny day in San Luis Obispo, California at the Dairy Products Technology Center. Our third cohort of aspiring cheesemakers is picking up milk from CalPoly Creamery to learn about washed curd cheesemaking. For the past month, the students have been working in teams to design a new cheese recipe that they will present to the instructors at the end of the scholar year as part of their graduating project. Meanwhile, I am reflecting on the growth of the vocational school for the past five years and summarizing our learnings. In the coming months, I will start working on our strategic plan for the year 2035. By then, we anticipate having a network of 160 alumni. It is hard to believe that five years ago this program was just a dream.
As an educator and researcher in the fields of cheese product development, dairy manufacturing, and sensory evaluation, my passion converges on supporting artisanal cheesemakers, igniting the creation of new dairy products, and safeguarding the richness of cheese diversity. I set out to bridge the gap in technical education for aspiring cheesemakers and cultivate new generations of skilled professionals to shape the future of the dairy industry by creating the industry’s first accredited training center for cheesemakers in the US.
With over two decades involved in the dairy processing industry as an educator and researcher, I’ve witnessed the lack of comprehensive educational avenues for those eager to embark on a cheesemaking career or build skills to further their success in this field. This realization fueled my quest to redefine the American cheese industry’s educational landscape. Thanks to the 2024 Daphne Zepos Teaching Award, I was able to travel to Europe to learn from experts in professional cheese education and build connections that would help me bring my dream to life.
I first ventured to France to visit the ENILEA in Poligny and Mamirolle in the Jura Region, one of the biggest and most successful vocational schools for cheesemakers and professionals in the dairy industry to learn more about facility needs, students’ background, program structure, and job placements for graduates. I then visited the Italian Culinary Institute in Italy to attend an artisan Italian cheesemaking course and learn more about their class design and curriculum.
After collecting information in Europe, I also looked for similar educational models in other countries to contrast educational programs, curricula, facilities, and business models.
Armed with insights from interviews, extensive research, and an unwavering determination, I set forth to create a new hub for technical and hands-on education tailored for aspiring cheesemakers.
After I concluded my research, I shared my vision for a transformative vocational cheese program at the ACS conference in 2025. My presentation helped spread the word about the need for vocational training and the impact of those programs on supporting the development of a labor pipeline for the industry. The response was resounding, with cheesemakers, artisanal creameries, and dairy processors echoing the urgent need for vocational training. Thus, the seeds of change were planted.
After sharing my vision at the ACS conference, the work has just begun. In collaboration with stakeholders, including artisanal and industrial cheesemakers and non-profit organizations, we designed a curriculum. We worked with CalPoly’s extended, professional, and continuing education office to create the “CURD program”. Once it got approved by the University, I partnered with community colleges and the University recruitment office to spread the word about the vocational school. We created a website dedicated to the program and leveraging resources from a USDA project, we were able to source recruitment efforts around the West Coast.
Fast forward five years and I am proud to share that three cohorts of graduates have emerged from the CURD program, comprising 30 new cheese professionals ready to apply their skills to strengthening the American cheese industry. Their success stories paint a vivid picture of possibilities: head cheesemaker, laboratory technician, quality control, or research and development technician. Thanks to this program, one of the graduates coming from a family of field workers started working as a laboratory technician for an industrial producer and ended up being a supervisor after only three years of being in the company, this example is a testament to the power of hands-on education and mentorship.
Nestled within the Dairy Products Technology Center at CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, our program is a vibrant hub for learning, spurring new ideas, and collaboration. Our curriculum allows aspiring cheesemakers to immerse themselves in classes, labs, and real-world experiences. Monthly visits to creameries, guest lectures from industry experts, and a rich network of alumni and mentors enhance the educational program and support future professional success. The program is a true from “cows to neurons” experience.
The CURD program at the Dairy Products Technology Center stands as an inspiration for excellence and rigorous education, with strong technical and scientific fundamentals. Here, innovation thrives, collaboration flourishes, and talent blossoms, shaping the cheese industry landscape of tomorrow.
My dream has been realized, but this journey doesn’t end here. Inspired by Daphne Zepos's passion for education and the pursuit of knowledge, I dream bigger, reaching beyond cheesemaking to embrace a broader realm of dairy products: yogurt, ice cream, butter, and whey products. Our sights are set on 2035, when we envision a program that serves as a foundation for vocational dairy careers, nurturing talent, and fostering innovation and collaboration, with eight cohorts graduating and with an alumni network of more than 80 professionals. As a result of the CURD program, we have supported the dairy industry in California by providing a steady number of trained employees, expanding the processing capacity for artisanal cheesemakers, and halting farmstead operations closures.
I’m proud and humbled to carry on the mission of Daphne Zepos through the CURD program as I and my colleagues educate, inspire, empower, and transform our students’ lives through the art and science of cheesemaking. Thanks to her legacy, we’re making the industry’s future bright, one cheesemaker at a time.
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