Informational Interview

Interviewer: Jesse Donmoyer

Interviewee: Dr. David Barker, Department of Crop Science and Horticulture Advisor

Interview Questions

1. What was your own academic and career path?

I am originally from New Zealand, which is where I completed high school and earned my undergraduate and master’s degrees. Afterwards, I worked for the New Zealand Federal Government at an agricultural research institution.  Then after four years, I went to the United States on scholarship from the government and got my PhD in drought physiology at the University of Nebraska where I also met my wife. After completing my PhD, I moved back to New Zealand to work for the Federal Government for an additional sixteen years. Finally in 2000, I moved to Ohio. My career path was unusual in that I worked after I got my master’s degree instead of getting my PhD right afterwards. Most of my colleagues’ paths involved going straight into academia instead of working beforehand.

2. What Kind of Research are Students in this Major Doing?

There has been a large increase in the scale of undergraduate research over the last 15 years at Ohio State. Students in the Sustainable Plant Systems major are involved in all types of research from honors research, to independent study and distinction research. A lot of agriculture students end up participating in the university-wide research forum where they present their projects to judges. Most students do research that involves extra reading on the topic to complement their lab work with a faculty member. Currently research is being done on orchards, berry crops, ornamentals, corn, and turf. In fact, a third of the research being done is on plant genetics. All outdoors research takes place over the summer. During the winter months, cold temperatures force research to be conducted in greenhouses.

3. What Kind of Internships are Available to Student’s in this Major?

The vast majority of students intern with a variety of agriculture companies including Monsanto, Pioneer, and Dow over the summer. All internships for Sustainable Plant Systems majors are paid, and therefore students choose to make their internships last more than 12 weeks. Some students intern with the same company two or three times while others have multiple internships that serve to broaden their experiences. Generally, internships with large companies include rotating the student around various parts of the company for the first few weeks, and then the company narrows the intern’s focus on a specific function in the company for the remaining time. Smaller companies also accept interns from Ohio State as well, which continue to accept applications throughout the school year.

4. What Careers Have Graduates from this Major Pursued?

The careers that graduates from the Sustainable Plant Systems major pursue is split fairly evenly. About five to ten percent will go on to graduate school in order to go into academia. Five to ten percent will become employed by the government with many going to graduate school to obtain those government positions. Twenty percent will become farmers. Twenty percent will go into agriculture sales within a company. Twenty percent will go into agronomy within a company. Another twenty percent is composed of miscellaneous pathways including working for the city of Columbus, the Peace Corps, and rural banks.

5. How Engaged or Accessible are Faculty in Your Department?

All advisors are professors, therefore, students have more direct contact with their advisors on average. In addition, all classes are taught by professors, not graduate students, so contact with students is increased in that way as well. This increased contact between professors and their students contributes to an engaging culture in the College.

Synthesis Questions

1. How did you find this interviewee, and why did you choose to interview this person?

I found Dr. David Barker on the College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Science website. I chose to interview him because he is the advisor for the Department of Crop Science and Horticulture, which houses the Sustainable Plant Systems major that I am interested in. If I decide to study this major, I would be in frequent contact with him. Therefore, I reasoned that he would be one of the best people I could interview.

2. How has this interview influenced your major and/or career exploration?

Interviewing Dr. Barker has allowed me to gain knowledge on many aspects of the Sustainable Plant Systems major. I learned about the nature and abundance of the internships available to students in this major and also the research projects they are working on. I am still considering a major in environmental science, but the things I learned in this interview definitely made me excited about potentially declaring a major in Sustainable Plant Systems.

3. Did you learn anything unexpected from the interview? If so, what? If not, which ideas did the interview reinforce?

I learned a lot of unexpected things from my interview. For example, when Dr. Barker and I were on the topic of internships, I learned that most of John Deere’s revenue comes from loaning or renting expensive farm equipment, not actually selling it. In addition, I learned that agriculture companies mainly value on-the-job experience and performance of an agronomist when it comes to advancement rather than a master’s degree.

4. 4. What do you feel you still need to learn about this major/career before being able to make a confident decision?

I feel like I still need to learn more about what daily life as an agronomist would entail before making a confident decision. I would like to know the subtleties such as what agronomists’ main grievances with their jobs are and what their daily life is like. I would also like to gain more knowledge about the Environmental Science major with a focus in Soil Science before making my final choice.

5. Which major exploration tools/activities/resources that you utilized this semester were most helpful to you and why?

The recitation activities in which I was asked to consider my strengths and hobbies were one of the most helpful things I did in my survey class. It made me think about my passion for environmental science, soil, and about my strengths in soil judging. Additionally, this informational interview was also one of the most helpful assignments I completed in my exploration survey class this semester. Through this interview, I have gained a greater understanding of the Sustainable Plant Systems major, and it has strengthened my interest in this field. I am very thankful that my exploration of potential majors has narrowed as a result.

https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/73c7c8d6b30fcd6972043f06a8579d57/summer-2016-road-trip/index.html

This story map recounts a two and a half week road trip I took with a few friends over the summer of 2016. The main goal of the trip was to get away from the hustle and bustle of our hometowns and experience the larger country. It took a lot of time and effort to plan the trip with collecting funds, coordinating with each other’s schedules, and compiling an itinerary. Looking back, it was well worth the time and energy because it will be an adventure I will remember for a long, long time. Over the two and a half weeks, I learned a lot about myself and my friends as we overcame adversity and challenges together. Being the sole driver of the trip, I feel like I gained a lot of maturity as I was fully responsible for taking care of my passengers and my car. Whenever a decision had to be made, I was always the one to have the final say because I was responsible for transportation. There were many times that we faced adversity in the form of a strenuous hike, plans failing, or interpersonal conflict. However, I learned how to keep my head in difficult situations and keep moving towards the end goal. Overall, I feel very fortunate to have had such an amazing adventure with my friends, and that I had the opportunity to see more of our beautiful country. I now realize that no trip can be considered an adventure if everything goes according to plan.