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Chemical engineer quenches thirst for science at St. Petersburg Distillery
This chemical engineer is thankful she took her grandmother's advice. Now, she is succeeding in a male-dominated industry while still applying her passion for science on a daily basis. Her job is to maintain the quality of gin at the St. Petersburg Distillery.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It’s safe to say job satisfaction is at a solid "10" for Clara Robbins.
"Yeah, I love what I do. Who couldn’t love making booze every day; it’s a lot of fun," she said.
Clara used her chemical engineering background to fast-track a career in distilling. She manages quality at St. Petersburg Distillery and creates new gin recipes from scratch.
"Developing a recipe at a small scale and then scaling it up to take it out to the production floor really takes a lot of my chemical engineering background," Clara said.
Clara has always had a love for math. It was a nudge from her grandma that pushed her towards chemical engineering. At the time, it was a subject she knew nothing about.
"She said I needed to be a chemical engineer because my granddad was a chemical engineer, so I just did it," she recalled.
In college, she noticed a lack of women in her classes. It’s a trend that followed her into the world of distilling.
"I see myself in this industry for life, this is where I belong. I want more women to also feel that way," Clara said.
She has advice for any young girls out there following in her footsteps: be confident and keep pushing forward.
"I just let it go," she said. "I am confident that my brain would take me places, so I just let it."