On the home stretch!

Hi all!

We are rapidly approaching the end of the semester, and beginning to hear about final exams and term projects!  No need to sweat though, as it's just another part of being a student.   This is my final semester at Purdue, so while I'm naturally excited to be finished with school, I will certainly miss this place and all the great folks with it.  I came as a transfer student, so these past two years have gone fast, but have been extremely fulfilling!  The course work has been great, but I put the most value on the friendships and connections I have made throughout my time here in the agronomy department.  As I begin my career as a farmer in northern Indiana, I will carry these friendships with me long after I walk across the stage at graduation.

I am thrilled about spring coming on here in Lafayette, bringing with it fieldwork and planting.  I'm just a good ole farm boy, and I'm real excited about those smells of spring - namely fresh-tilled soil and first-cutting alfalfa.  I headed home over the Easter weekend, and folks are gearing up for planting up that way.  The rye cover crop is growing well, and approaching the stage of growth where it just explodes upon a streak of warm weather.  Because of this, we're making plans to kill that cover crop in the next week to ten days ahead of planting beans into the rye cover at the end of April.  I encountered a nice spring rain on my drive back down to campus on Sunday which will slow down fieldwork, but provides some needed moisture to fill the soil profile with water going into the growing season.

Amid the sadness of leaving this place that I know and love, I'm excited for what lies ahead.  I know that my education here at Purdue will see me through in the coming years though!

We have a 2319!!

   If you aren’t familiar with the movie Monster’s Inc, the term 2319 is when a Monsters Inc employee is contaminated with an object that was touched by a human child. Although we are wearing similar suits to the Child Detection Agency, we are actually being trained to handle hazardous chemicals rather than objects contaminated by children. While pursuing a degree in Natural Resources/Environmental Science (NRES) at Purdue, you can take a course that trains and certifies you in Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER) through OSHA. NRES 280 is a 40-hour course in the spring semester taught by our local fire safety

specialist, Tom Cooper.
   Why would you want to become certified in HAZWOPER before you graduate? Once you enter the working world, there is a chance that your career can involve working with or managing hazardous chemicals as well as its clean up. With this being said, this certification can set you apart from other applicants when applying for a job. Being certified in HAZWOPER, can save an employer money in having to train you which may make you a more attractive candidate. What’s the best part? The certification is no extra cost to you during your last semester. This semester, I meet for class twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour and fifteen minutes. During that time, Tom teaches us how to identify types of hazardous chemicals, how to put on equipment, and how to handle certain situations should there be an incident. Along with meeting during the week, we also meet two times for lab during the 10 week duration of the course. The two labs consist of hands on experience with the equipment  I have only completed one of the two labs so far this semester and it was definitely an interesting experience! During the lab, we suited up and put on an air respirator while accomplishing multiple tasks with a partner. One of the tasks included completing paperwork about a certain chemical in the dark. The purpose of completing some of these tasks in the dark is in order to prepare for a worst case scenario. Another task consisted of working out on a treadmill or an elliptical for five minutes. The purpose of this was for the individual to adjust to being hot within the suit, gloves, and air respirators. We also used tools in determining the pH, temperature, and oxygen count of different samples. The last part of the lab was my personal favorite. We took off the original air respirators and put on an oxygen tank.  Along with the tank, we also had to put another pair of gloves that really altered the way you could move and use your hand. In order to get used to the bulkiness, we were required to put together Legos. These aren’t the big Legos either. These Legos have the tiny and intricate pieces into creating what’s on the box. I obviously became very frustrated attempting to put the pieces together!
thanks to the help of the Purdue Fire Department.

   Overall, this course has been very hands on and interesting to learn about. It’s great to know that I will have this training done when I graduate to help me stand out while applying for jobs. The labs are a little hot, but they are fun! This course and NRES in general gives you the hands on experience within the classroom that you can eventually take into the real world. 

       Boiler Up! Love, Nicole

Happy February Boiler Family!

As we are moving right along into the semester, lots of exciting things are happening around our state. This is a very special year for Indiana, as we celebrate our bicentennial, the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, the 60th IPL 500 Festival Parade, and the 40th running of the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon! This past month there were 33 college ladies from all over the state selected to serve as the 2016 500 Festival Princess Ambassadors. These young women were selected based on professionalism, scholarship, leadership, and community service. I have been blessed so greatly to be one of these 33 individuals! We had our orientation weekend last weekend and had so much fun while we learned about the 500 Festival and got to know each other. 
This is an outstanding platform for me to share my love of agriculture and spread the great news of what Purdue is doing in the industry.
Here at Purdue, classes are going through first rounds of exams and Boilers are studying hard! The Crops Resource Room has become one of my favorite study places. With computers, printers, friends, teaching assistants, and professors all around, homework is great to do during my day! I am loving learning new things about soil fertility, nutrient management, crop growth, ecology, and organic chemistry!
All students are looking forward to the warmer days to walk to class. Stay warm and bring on spring!
Boiler Up!
Christy

Has Spring Sprung Yet?

While the snow is falling here at Purdue, I can't help but to think of the warmer weather I'll be experiencing this Spring Break!  Nonetheless, it scares me to think too far forward in the year when there are only 3 more precious months in the place I've gotten to call home.  

My time in Purdue Agronomy has really set me up for a great future - I feel as if I'm prepared for whatever the world has to throw at me, regardless of where I am or who I'm with or what I'm doing.  While my next step is a graduate program at another institution, I feel confident that I would be able to find a place working in the area if I were going that route instead of what I've chosen.  What I've learned has extended so far beyond the classroom!  The friendships I've made, organizations I've been a part of, and experiences I've shared with others have made me truly grateful for the world around me.  Not only have I become rich with experiences, I've gotten so much professional exposure that I feel confident in stepping out into the real world (good thing, too, as I'll be forced to do it in 3 months!)

Here's to your journey at Purdue, hopefully as filled with possibilities as I've had.  Good luck with everything, as I sign off.  Love, Stephanie 

Oh We're Halfway There...

With the new semester recently starting, I've been completely swept away by the undertow. I'm taking way too many classes and for the first time in my life, I'm feeling completely overwhelmed. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, I haven't taken a second to reflect on how far I've come and how far I still have to go.

I realized today that the close of last semester marked my halfway point in college. I am one and a half years in with one and a half to go. That just seems insane. How am I halfway done already? It has been crazy and hard, but worth every second.

In the past year and a half I have gained a countless number of friends, made millions of memories, work harder than I've ever had to before, laughed harder than I've ever wanted to before, and had more fun than I've ever have before. So in other words, so far college has been amazing.

Yes, I've studied. Yes, I've spent late nights doing homework. Yes, my homeworks are finished minutes before that 11:59 pm deadline. Yes, sometimes I have to bribe myself with food to get to classes. But none of that is what I'm going to remember when I think back to my college days.

I'm going to remember the time that my best friend invited me to her sororities Dad's Day and we got rained out at Ross-Ade. I'm going to remember the long soil judging trips with some of the best people I've ever met. I'm going to remember when Agronomy Club won the Farmer's Olympics and the team lifted me high over their heads. Killing time in the Crops Resource Center with friends. Hugging a goat in the Memorial Mall. Eating Insomnia Cookies and pizza with my roommate on out dorm room floor.



The last three semesters here at Purdue have really been a blessing (sometimes in disguise but a blessing none the less). I'm incredibly grateful to study beside some of the world's most intelligent people. I can't believe that I have less than three semesters to go but I also can't wait to see what they have in store for me.


Lots of Love and Boiler Up!

Shelby Sigman

Worldly Travels

     Attending college is not only the time in a person's life to continue their education, but it is also the chance to experience new things. One of the many benefits of attending Purdue University is that Purdue highly encourages their students to study abroad. There are multiple options to travel. A student can go for a spring break trip all the way up to an entire semester! In the College of Agriculture you can go many places including Ireland, Belgium, Costa Rica, Haiti, China, and even Cuba! Many students who come to Purdue depend on financial aid and scholarships in order to make it through. Not to worry! Not only does Purdue University award scholarship money to all students who answer the essay question, but the Agronomy Department also has scholarships that are awarded to students. Furthermore, if you study abroad for a semester any financial aid you receive can still be used!
     I am very excited to say that in 38 days I will be boarding a plane to go to Ireland for Spring Break with the College of Agriculture! Not only am I excited to be traveling out of the country for the first time and being on a plane for the first time, I am going to be traveling with some of my good friends. It is going to be an amazing experience that will cost me very little. We are going to be traveling to a new place everyday seeing Dublin, Irish Farms, famous sites, and so much more! I encourage everyone who comes to Purdue to take advantage of all of the opportunities that you possibly can.

As always, Boiler Up!

For more information about Purdue Study Abroad, see the link below!
https://ag.purdue.edu/Pages/default.aspx  

Summer Internship

As we've settled into the spring semester, I can't help but get more and more excited as the summer drawers near.  This summer, I will be working for Dow AgroSciences in Fowler, IN.  I will be working as a corn breeding intern, with a group of other interns, leading pollination groups and conducting field experiments.  What's really great about the Fowler location is that I'll be able to live on campus and still be close to all of the happenings at Purdue University during the summer!  Not only am I excited to work in the field and get more hands-on-work experience, I'm also very much looking forward to conducting my own project at the end of my internship term.


One of the things that I love most about the Dow AgroSciences company is their commitment to innovation through advanced agricultural technologies.  World hunger has always been an issue that is really close to my heart, and I am so excited to work for a company that's passionate about finding solutions.  Dow focuses a lot of their work on finding better ways to feed the world and improve life across the globe.



I am ever grateful for the opportunities the Purdue Agronomy department has given me.  With the huge College of Agriculture Career Fair, getting hands-on work experience on campus, and taking courses with world-renowned faculty, I know I would not be where I am today without Purdue Agronomy.  There has never been a better time to get into the agronomy field, with all its job opportunities and ways to make a difference in the world we live in!