Kalyn Barnhart, Co-op Student of the Year, Bachelor of Science: My name is Kalyn and I'm a fourth year molecular biology and genetics student with a minor in neuroscience. I worked at a pet treatment manufacturing company called The Crump Group, where I was a research and development assistant.

Action: Kalyn feeds a treat to a dog in an office. In a lab, she puts a lab coat and gloves on.

I think my manager could very clearly see my drive and dedication and I think that was made obvious through both the quality of my work and my attitude when I came in every day.

Action: Kalyn cuts of treats.

Punyanit Siripun, Senior R&D Specialist, Nominator, The Crump Group Inc.: I nominated Kalyn because she was really good to work with and you know she had a really positive attitude.

Action: Kalyn uses a device to measure moisture content in a treat. Kalyn works on a graph on her laptop, collaborating with her manager. Kalyn weighs out a dry powder.

A lot of her work really left a lasting impact on the company and some of the things that she has worked on, we still use them today.

Action: Kalyn opens a fridge and then an oven, removing a tray.

She was a really fast learner. We definitely introduced her a lot of complex concepts and she was able to grasp them very quickly.

She has a genuine curiosity for learning. She is able to take her work and her learning very independently and I think it really helped us being in a very fast paced environment.

Kalyn: One of the main projects that I'm really proud of involved redesigning the oven programs for some of their most popular dog treats that they sell here.

I analyzed over 500 oven runs and used that data to develop 20 different programs which we ran about 30 trials on ending up in an increased throughput for this product of about 7.5% equating to nearly $300,000 a month in product revenue.

I found that I really enjoyed the nature of like the hands-on work and research and development in general.

That inspired me a little bit to look into career paths with research and development for molecular techniques.

Punyanit: One thing I know that I can count on Kalyn for is that she will always show up and she will always deliver.

With her here I'm able to just relax and actually trust the process and I don't have to feel like I have to worry and just micromanage on certain things.

Kalyn: It's one thing knowing that you're doing a good job but actually receiving the award for it and the recognition is such a huge motivator to just keep doing my best going forward.