For Wendy Steinberg, it was the desire for a new challenge, a love of science and a need to just ‘make something’ that set her on a journey from pharmacist to working for Tasmania’s iconic Lark Distillery.
After 12 years in pharmacy, Wendy knew it was time to try something new; it was time to take a chance and embrace her creativity and hands-on ambitions while never straying too far from her true love: science.
“I knew that I wanted to go back to uni, and I was looking at different options from radiography to food science,” she said. “I’ve always loved science, and I knew that I wanted to do something with my hands, to make something.”
Wendy found herself enrolling in the University of Tasmania’s Associate Degree in Applied Science, which offers a specialisation in fermentation and separation.
“It was just what I was looking for, a science degree that was interesting and flexible, had career opportunities in the fermentation and separation industry, and online study options.
“It was the perfect opportunity to start a new career ‘making something’,” Wendy said.
It wasn’t long into her studies before Wendy’s skills and creative spirit caught the eye of renowned Tasmanian whisky producer Lark Distillery, who offered her a distilling production assistant role halfway through her degree.
From day one, I worked hard to learn as much as I could and refine my skills, and I was rewarded with a promotion to a distiller role about eight months after I started.
“But I didn't stop my learning journey there, and I started helping out with research and development projects, taking on more as time went on.
“I have just had my two-year anniversary working at Lark, and I now proudly call myself Lark's Research and Development Officer,” she said.
The perfect blend of science, creativity, and getting your hands dirty, whisky-making has become as much a passion for Wendy as it is a profession, with the intricacies of distilling providing a much-needed challenge and a final product to be proud of.
“Whisky-making is a beautiful marriage of science and craft. That’s what continues to draw me so intensely to it. Every step of the process from grain to bottle is steeped in the craft, underpinned by scientific principles.
“There is still so much to learn. That’s what I love so much about my job, I am on the coalface of whisky research in Tasmania, and I am learning something new about it every day,” she said.
With graduation on the horizon and an illustrious career in Tasmanian’s thriving whisky industry well underway, Wendy looks to the past and the future as she embraces a career change years in the making.
“At Lark, we honour the history of whisky making in Tasmania, but we also embrace new opportunities and innovations to make great whisky.”
Find out more about our Undergraduate Certificate in Fermentation and Associate Degree in Applied Science.
