{"id":9119,"date":"2023-02-20T09:27:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T15:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=9119"},"modified":"2023-02-20T09:27:42","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T15:27:42","slug":"uwl-grads-help-fuel-kwik-trips-workforce","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uwl-grads-help-fuel-kwik-trips-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"UWL grads help fuel Kwik Trip\u2019s workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Photo<\/a>
UWL graduates, particularly those in the sciences, are critical to Kwik Trip’s recruiting efforts in food safety and related fields. This talent pipeline would be strengthened, Kwik Trip leaders say, through the completion of UWL’s Prairie Springs Science Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Science alums \u2018incredibly important\u2019 for company’s recruiting needs<\/h3>\n
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Kwik Trip fuels<\/span>\u00a0our<\/span>\u00a0vehicles<\/span>\u00a0and a large section of the Midwestern economy. The La Crosse-based company owns and operates more than 800 stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan, with nearly 500 alone in Wisconsin.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But<\/span>\u00a0what fuels\u00a0<\/span>Kwik<\/span>\u00a0Trip? It\u2019s the people, says Kwik Trip Vice President Steve Loehr. And UW-La Crosse, he adds, is an invaluable part of the equation for recruiting\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>quality workforce.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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UWL science graduates are\u00a0<\/span>key to<\/span>\u00a0ensur<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0food is safe to eat\u00a0<\/span>through<\/span>\u00a0Kwik Trip\u2019s award-winning food safety lab, led by UWL\u00a0<\/span>alum<\/span>\u00a0Kevin Miller<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>He\u00a0<\/span>holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>biology<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>microbiology<\/span><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>as well\u00a0<\/span>as<\/span>\u00a0a graduate degree in microbiology.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When Miller attended UWL, all science labs and classes were held in<\/span>\u00a0Cowley<\/span>\u00a0Hall<\/span>, which\u00a0<\/span>opened<\/span>\u00a0in 1965.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Photo<\/a>
Kevin Miller, a UWL alum who now leads Kwik Trip’s food safety lab, says UWL graduates enter the workforce with a “very strong science base.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cResearch labs were\u00a0<\/span>fairly cramped<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0We made do with what we had. We made it work,\u201d he says. \u201cI got to tour in the new science building<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and I\u2019m jealous of what is there now.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Miller refers to\u00a0<\/span>the first phase of UWL\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Prairie Springs Science Center<\/span>, completed in 2018<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The second phase<\/span><\/span><\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0awaiting approval<\/span>\u00a0by the state\u00a0<\/span>L<\/span>egislature<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>includes the demolition of Cowley Hall and the construction of a new science\u00a0<\/span>fac<\/span>ility<\/span>\u00a0with\u00a0<\/span>30 high-tech learning spaces.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Miller,\u00a0<\/span>who does the hiring for his lab, says UWL graduates enter the workforce with a \u201cvery strong science base,\u201d which is crucial to the success of\u00a0<\/span>Kwik Trip\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>food\u00a0<\/span>safety<\/span>\u00a0program.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Photo<\/a>
Steve Loehr, vice president of Kwik Trip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But it\u2019s not just science students.\u00a0<\/span>Loehr is proud of\u00a0<\/span>Kwik Trip\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>other\u00a0<\/span>partnerships with UWL, including with\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>College of Business Administration\u2019s Integrated Core Program<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe provide 20 scholarships a year to UWL students, numerous internships, and the ability to come and shadow workers on the job to see what\u2019s behind the door at Kwik Trip,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Loehr<\/span>\u00a0explains<\/span>. \u201cPrograms like this ensure us that we get exposed to the best at UWL.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Loehr\u00a0<\/span>hope<\/span>s\u00a0<\/span>t<\/span>he new facility will\u00a0<\/span>attract<\/span>\u00a0even more\u00a0<\/span>top students to the La Crosse area \u2014 not just to pursue an education, but to live and work upon graduation.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI see the science center being a magnet for Western Wisconsin,” Loehr says.<\/span>\u00a0“Wisconsin<\/span>\u00a0nee<\/span>ds to work on a talent attraction program for the whole state, and we need to work on it for our region.\u00a0<\/span>We need to get the best and brightest students that graduate from UWL and other area colleges to stay in La Crosse and the state of Wisconsin.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about UWL’s partnerships with Kwik Trip.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Written by University Communications, UW-La Crosse<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/uwl-grads-help-fuel-kwik-trips-workforce\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Science alums \u2018incredibly important\u2019 for company’s recruiting needs Kwik Trip fuels\u00a0our\u00a0vehicles\u00a0and a large section of the Midwestern economy. The La Crosse-based company owns and operates more than 800 stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan, with nearly 500 alone in Wisconsin.\u00a0\u00a0 But\u00a0what fuels\u00a0Kwik\u00a0Trip? It\u2019s the people, says Kwik Trip Vice President Steve Loehr. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":9121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-9119","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/9119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=9119"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=9119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}