The Department of Horticulture and Crop Science's (HCS) Graduate Research Symposium (GRS) is always a highlight of Spring Semester for us. The GRS is coordinated by the HCS Graduate Student Association (GSA) and provides HCS students and faculty from both our Wooster and Columbus campuses the opportunity to come together to share their research!
Katelyn Boyce, was able to cap off her time as Secretary of the GSA by helping organize this year's GRS. Katelyn is currently finishing up her MS under the advisement of Dr. Clay Sneller and took a few moments to shed some further insight into her experience organizing the 2025 Graduate Research Symposium…
HOW WAS THE SYMPOSIUM FOR YOU OVERALL?
The GRS was a lot different for me this year than it was last year as a first-year student. Last year I presented a short proposal and mostly just participated in the Symposium activities since I wasn't really sure what was going on or how things were supposed to work.
This year, I spent a lot of time in GSA helping to plan, organize, and run the Symposium, as well as consider what changes to make from last year. It was a lot of work, but I am so happy I joined GSA because it really helped me get out of my comfort zone—I leveraged some of my industry connections to find the keynote speaker, reconnected with my undergrad advisor to participate in the career panel, worked through the nuances of event planning, and designed and ran the "People of HCS" Bingo activity—all of which I had never done before and learned SO MUCH from. It was a little hectic at times, but I gained a lot of valuable management experience that will be very useful as I go into the industry this year.
What's Next for you?
I'm actually moving out to Illinois this month to work with Intrinsic Perennial Gardens as an ornamental breeder, so I won't be with the Sneller lab during phenotyping and harvest this year. I'll be writing my thesis and doing data analysis on the side from May-November, then I'll come back to Wooster and defend my thesis!
Closing thoughts?
We're looking for students to join the 2025-2026 GSA! If you're interested in joining or considering replacing some of our outgoing officer positions (like mine for Secretary) don't hesitate to reach out to our GSA advisor, Regina.
Eager for more news from our 2025 Graduate Research Symposium? You're in luck - check out all the articles here.