My name is Lizet Garcia, and I am from Chicago, IL. I received my bachelor’s degree in Animal Sciences from the University of Illinois in May 2020. Throughout my undergraduate career, I invested much of my time working side by side with dairy cattle. I began by assisting in multiple research trials within the Dairy Focus Lab where I was exposed to a lot of the hands-on experience. At the Dairy Cattle Research Unit, I discovered many things about myself; I loved understanding how nutrition affects a cow’s ability to lactate efficiently and comprehending the physiological and nutritional effects they undergo whether that is from heat stress or the transitioning period. Furthermore, I decided to advance my knowledge about the dairy industry by competing in both the Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge and North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge for two years total. Through this, I quickly learned there is a huge need of guidance for improving the productivity of dairy cattle and decided to pursue a master’s degree in dairy nutrition under Dr. Cardoso. I am currently running my first research trial, which involves bacteria supplementation during the transition period. I extremely grateful to now be a graduate student in the Dairy Focus Lab and excited to continue learning from my peers and advisor.