It’s important that ecologists study how plants deal with these events so that we can predict how they’ll be impacted by future ones.
Although I’m a plant ecologist now, I didn’t always know that it would become my career path. Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, I had all kinds of interests. I loved reading, writing, dancing, and drawing. These are things you might not automatically associate with scientists, but they turned out to be helpful! Scientists spend lots of time writing and analyzing articles, and the creativity that I learned from art and dance helps me to think outside of the box when designing experiments. I also spent plenty of time playing in our family’s garden, where I began to develop an appreciation of plants.
But it wasn’t until college that I discovered my passion for plant ecology. After I finished high school, I moved to Gainesville, Florida to study at the University of Florida (Go, Gators!). When I first got there, I took all kinds of classes to explore what subjects most interested me. One semester I decided to enroll in introductory botany, a class all about the science of plants. I was quickly hooked. I loved asking and trying to answer lots of questions: Why do some plants have leaves that are shaped differently? How do trees stay cool on a hot day? Why are some plants taller than others? In addition, I loved how studying plants in the classroom made me more conscious of them in my daily life. When walking to class, I noticed details about trees and flowers that I’d previously walked by without even thinking about. It was like I was seeing a whole new world!
After the class finished, I wanted to continue my botanical studies.
