Boilermaker’s double major spreads success during Smucker’s internship

Written By: Rebecca Hoffa, rhoffa@purdue.edu

Galit Beraja poses next to the J.M. Smucker Company sign. (Photo provided)

When it comes to the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Galit Beraja understands what creates the ideal combination of flavors. A nutrition and dietetics and food science double major in Purdue University’s colleges of Health and Human Sciences and Agriculture, Beraja spent the summer in product development at the J.M. Smucker Company where her projects worked to perfect the company’s product lineup.

“My internship there was super cool,” Beraja said. “I was specifically working with fruit spreads. I had three different projects I worked on, and one of them was a sugar-reduction project. That was super interesting because of my interest in the nutrition side of things. That’s an example of where my two majors intersect a lot in making a product that tastes good but is also good for you.”

Galit Beraja(Photo provided)

For Beraja, who started at Purdue in the Department of Nutrition Science before adding her additional major in the Department of Food Science, being able to impact people’s health is important to her as she pursues a career in product development.

“I was super excited when I was assigned those projects,” Beraja said. “I felt a really close connection to those projects. Making a possible product, calculating the nutrition label and seeing that it’s half the amount of sugar and that it might be on the shelf one day, that’s really cool.”

Beraja saw her classroom skills in both majors come to life in the Orrville, Ohio-based company. This included exploring sugar reduction and substituting artificial flavors with natural ones.

“My coursework has translated a lot,” Beraja said. “My food science classes are a lot of understanding the different ingredients and how they function in a product. When I was at Smucker’s this past summer, I was able to think from that lens more. Even from a nutrition perspective, just knowing what things are good for you or not good for you and how you can alter a product accordingly is very helpful.”

Beraja noted having both majors gives her a broader perspective, combining her passion for health with her interest in the creativity of food science. In addition to her classes, Beraja has also gotten involved with Nutrition Society — the Department of Nutrition Science’s official student organization — as well as research in assistant professor Anita Panjwani’s lab, looking at ingestive behavior of individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders.

“I think the perspective I have through both majors is something that’s really unique, which I really love, and I’ll be able to use that knowledge in my career,” Beraja said.

Beraja also helped found Boiler Kitchen. The organization, for which Beraja was president during the 2024-25 academic year, focuses on hands-on cooking, recipe sharing and educational workshops to encourage students to eat healthy and sustainably.

Beraja poses for a photo as a product development intern for the J.M. Smucker Company.(Photo provided)

“We choose recipes based on cultural dishes to expose students to foods from different cultures, but we also try to keep it nutritious and things they can replicate in their dorm or apartment. Although it’s been challenging to have a lot of people in a kitchen space because meetings are up to 40 people, we’ve been able to find a good process for them. We’ve also found people like the social atmosphere of the meetings, so we let them hang out and eat their meal. It’s been really fun.”

While the organization started with only five members, Beraja has seen it grow significantly over the two years since it started.

“That was super exciting because I was able to help the club grow so much,” Beraja said. “Last year, we had 80 people sign up. The increase of people and receiving such great feedback has been an accomplishing feeling.”

Beraja, who is originally from Miami, Florida, explained Purdue has allowed her to really step out of her comfort zone, from her internships and student organization involvement to the opportunities to meet new people, all made possible by the scholarships that enabled her to attend the university.

“Thankfully, I was able to receive a lot of help from Purdue through a lot of scholarships, and that helped solidify my decision to come here,” Beraja said. “Then I came to visit, and I loved it. Being able to do this double major in four years — although it’s been hard at times — I feel like I’ve had a great support system that’s made it very doable. I’m glad I made this decision.”