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A Heart for Food
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In the fall of 1992, Stan Gilliland taught a food microbiology course where Jake Nelson met his now wife, Renee Albers-Nelson. The Nelsons work within the OSU Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center: she as the milling and baking specialist and he as the facilities manager.
“When I first came over to the college of agriculture from arts and sciences, I didn’t know what to expect,” Renee Albers-Nelson said. “I was in this classroom, and there was this big group of loud and obnoxious students, but they looked fun. I remember thinking to myself, ‘Who are those people?’”
Jake Nelson happened to be a part of the rambunctious students she noticed. She caught his eye from the beginning, he said, but she was not as keen on getting to know him. However, they eventually began working together to conduct the southwest district 4-H meat judging contest and their relationship sparked, he said.
“On the drive back to Stillwater after the contest Renee casually mentioned that she did not live too far off our route, and she had not been home since Christmas,” Jake Nelson said. “I made a quick decision to drive her to visit her folks for a surprise.”
The couple maintained a friendly relationship through various clubs and college activities, but it eventually turned into a dating relationship, Renee Albers-Nelson said. This continued throughout their undergraduate degrees, and after they both finished graduate school, she said.
“We were both offered jobs at FAPC,” she said. “Later, we got married and have been here ever since.”
Their work roles often require them to work on projects together and communicate with one another. They said they appreciate being able to go home and talk about their days and know what the other is talking about.
“Certain occupations are your life,” Jake Nelson said. “It is easy to say you should leave your work at work, but if you do your job right and you are passionate about it, that is hard to do. It becomes who you are as a person.”
The Nelsons have a 14-year-old daughter, Emma, who is interested in attending OSU, Renee Albers-Nelson said.
“We may talk about work too much,” she said. “It is who we are, and that has proven to rub off on Emma. She enjoys meat judging and even gets to come to FAPC to participate in the contests held here.”
The Nelsons started their shared journey at OSU as students, and now they and Emma have made a life here as part of the Cowboy family.
