Summer Reflections

Hello All!


I absolutely CANNOT believe how fast this past summer flew by and that I have now entered my senior year at Purdue University.  This first week back has been full-swing, but before I get too ahead of myself, I want to reflect on what an amazing summer I had with my Crop Protection internship.

I started this summer a little late, as I arrived back on US soil from my study abroad semester in Australia on May 29th.  The following day, I began my internship with Dow AgroSciences.  While I have previously worked as a Corn Breeding intern for Dow, this summer, I got to experience a different side of the company as a Crop Protection Research & Development intern.

Throughout the summer, I learned a lot about different types of weeds, insects, and insecticides, along with trait introgression and some of Dow's gene-stacking technologies.  I performed numerous inoculations, injury ratings, and even learned how to use a backpack sprayer!  What was really special was that I was given my own research project to conduct, based on glufosinate-related crop injury.  I was quite proud to develop the field plan and plant the seed all on my own.



One of my favorite parts about the internship was getting so meet so many fantastic Dow employees.  During my internship, I had the opportunity to travel to Illinois for root digs, where I interacted with field scientists and other Dow interns from across the nation.  Another role of mine as an intern was helping prepare site-tours, where I got to meet hundreds of Dow employees from headquarters, including a lot of its Discovery members.



Of course, my summer would not be as great as it was without my supportive boss, Sunil.  Sunil has his Ph.D. in entomology and has worked as a Crop Protection R&D field scientist for the past 4 years.  He really made an effort to try to help me learn new things about crop protection, since I previously had little experience with herbicides or insects.  He even left work to take me to the hospital when I had to get my appendix taken out in the middle of the summer- that sure was an experience.  Having a great boss and loving what you do each day makes work not seem like work, but rather, a fun and interesting way to spend the summer.

Now that school has started again, I am still continuing to finish up my research project with Dow, and I have recently taken on another position as a Teaching Assistant for Biochemistry 309.  My supervisor is Dr. Hart, and I loved the class when I took it last year.  I am very lucky to have her as my boss because she is so inspiring and it's obvious how much she genuinely cares about her students.  I know it's going to be a great semester, and a great school year, and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead.

Don't forget to come to the Welcome-Back Agronomy Cook-Out in front of Lilly tonight!



Best,

Hallie