Julia Rycyna

I enrolled in DPM because I was very intrigued and excited about the
interdisciplinary aspect of the degree. In addition, I was surprised and excited to learn
that you can be a doctor for plants and it made sense that plants are living things
and can get sick like humans. My overall interest in plants stemmed from helping my
mother in her home garden, and my undergraduate experience lead me to wanting a
career related to plants. However, I realized that my plant knowledge was not as wide
as I wished and realized the importance entomology, plant pathology, and soil science.
I am still learning what area of plants I would like to work on in the future, and I believe
that this program will expose me to new fields as I learn to find more of my interests,
find what I do not like, and feed my desire to learn and gain multiple skills.