Hometown: Bogor, Indonesia
Major: Ph.D. in Agronomy and Horticulture with specialization in Plant Physiology and Production
Anticipated Date of Graduation: Summer 2023
Why did you decide to come to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln?
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is one of the universities in the U.S. that has programs in my field, especially in crop physiology and production. This program is in line with the expertise that I want to achieve in my career as a teacher and researcher.
What is your favorite thing about the University of Nebraska-Lincoln?
The support of the advisor for my research project. I learn a lot of things from doing field research, doing lab work for some analysis and learning many new instruments to obtain a data set. This experience will help me to enhance my knowledge in the future.
What about diversity and inclusion is important to you when you think about your CASNR experience?
I experienced diversity and inclusion in the CASNR experience during classes throughout the semester. The graduate-level class mostly has multi-nations and local students. I learned a lot when we have discussions or working groups in the class project because we have different backgrounds and try to understand different points of view. This experience brings me to understand more at the international level community.
Exposure to cultural differences is a huge part of college. What activity have you recently participated in that is different from what you are used to in your culture? This could be something you read, listened to, watched, eaten or otherwise taken part in. What did you learn from this activity?
I think I learned new things how to start small talk when meeting new people or friends. Asking about their weekend, talking about the weather, or just commenting on the last football games. This is a little bit different from the culture that I have in Indonesia.
What is your favorite class you have taken so far and why?
All the classes were fun because most of them were related to my research project. I enrolled in a GIS class and that was the first time I learned about GIS as a supplementary course in my program. I learned a lot about how to create maps using ArcGIS. We have a final project to create a map based on the problem that we want to solve and share it in front of the class.
What are your plans post-graduation?
I will come back to Indonesia and continue my job. I will continue to teach and do some research at my home institution, IPB University.
What's life like outside of school?
I love biking on the weekend. Lincoln has one of the best bike trails and it is so much fun looking around the town or just simply walking around downtown and enjoying the weekend with friends. During the semester break, I travel across the nation to explore National Park and big cities.
What scholarships, if any, have you received?
I have received a Fulbright Scholarship for my Ph.D. degree. During the program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I was awarded Skala Fellowship in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 from Agricultural Research Division, and Dean’s Fellowship in 2022-2023 from Graduate Studies.