Wow, last week was AMAZING! During October 16 – 19, thousands of students, professors, and other individuals in the public and private sectors of plant and soil science met in beautiful (and warm) San Antonio for the annual ASA-CSSA-SSSA Meetings. While there, I had the opportunity to attend symposia on just about anything and everything imaginable, but some of my favorites were the presentations on plant genetics and the new technologies that will help us meet the nutritional needs of a growing population. Plus, I had the chance to speak with graduate school representatives, recruiters from private industry, and other students in plant and soil sciences from around the nation.
There were numerous activities throughout the week, to say the least. Just walking around in the exhibition hall where the graduate students were presenting their research posters was somewhat overwhelming. The research that is currently being conducted in the agricultural sciences is absolutely phenomenal. Yet, even more exhilarating is the prospect of improving the lives of people all across the world by using this and subsequent research and by training young individuals who want to make a difference.
Actually, this brings me to why I was able to attend the annual meetings both this year and last year. I am a Golden Opportunity Scholar alumnus, and this year was the fifth year anniversary of the program. Each year, the Golden Opportunity Scholars Institute fully funds the travel, lodging, and registration expenses of a few undergraduate students in agronomy, crop, or soil science so that these students can attend the annual meetings. Since this year marked the fifth year anniversary of the program, alumni were also given financial support to return for the reunion. I was able to reunite with the other 2010 scholars and to meet scholars from this year and from years past. Certainly, the connections that the current scholars and alumni made will prove valuable as we progress into our respective careers.
As part of the program, each student is paired with a mentor according to his or her interests. It is the program’s hope that the mentoring relationship extends beyond the duration of the meetings. For me personally, the mentor-mentee relationship has been invaluable. It led to an internship in a field of research that I love, and my mentor gave wonderful advice when I asked him about graduate school. And, he is simply an awesome individual who is willing to invest his time, energy, and knowledge in helping train young individuals who are interested in plant breeding. This program is truly a golden opportunity.
To think that I would not have had these experiences if my advisor, department chair, and another UK professor had not nominated me to be a Golden Opportunity Scholar and helped me put together my application is mind-boggling. But, this is a perfect example of one of the reasons why I love being a Plant and Soil Science student at UK: the professors care about their students and are willing to go the extra mile to ensure that their students succeed. These professors invest their time in training their students so that we, as college graduates, are prepared for the thousands of jobs that become available in plant and soil science each year in the United States alone. Hats off to UK’s Department of Plant and Soil Science for a job well done!
Carrie B., Future Plant Geneticist
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