My research is just beginning but it will deal with using biostimulants as environmentally friendly alternatives to fungicides, for preventing dollar spot disease, which is one of the most prevalent disease that affects turfgrass on golf courses worldwide. My research will hopefully allow me to identify species and cultivars of turfgrass that respond positively to various biostimulant applications and therefore have a lower disease incidence. This will potentially allow golf course managers to use fewer fungicides in the future by switching to biostimulant applications, which will reduce the environmental impact that they have on the surrounding ecosystems.
There is wealth of resources available for graduate students on campus. I believe the experiences during graduate studies will be one of the best experiences of any student’s life. However, you have to be prepared for things to not always go perfectly; sometimes you will find the workload overwhelming, but the key is not to lose hope. Things get better with time, and there are always resources available to help you. If you feel stressed, take a break and walk around our beautiful campus!
Make sure you are sure of the program and the advisor because it is easy to get caught up in the idea of taking everything one after another, but academia is not a race. The more you marinate and think and explore the things you want to do, the more meaningful they will be when you actually do them.
Think hard and explore the options of different pathways you can take in graduate studies. Make the best out of grad school, be social and go to events to meet others in your program. Enjoy your time here, it goes by extremely fast.
Drawing on my experience in academia and research, I would advise prospective graduate students to embrace challenges. When confronted with a difficult situation, tackle it directly rather than trying to avoid it. You'll often find that the solution emerges as you delve into understanding and addressing the challenge at hand.
“My advisor has allowed me to grow as an independent researcher, and ensures I stay on track. I have had a wonderful experience growing into the student I am now. ”
First of all, I would recommend all prospective students to select their advisors based on their academic background. Searching through the internet and find their publications and trying to make a connection between their research and their potential advisor's research. Also, I would recommend reaching out to previous graduate students of the potential advisor and ask them about the personality of the potential advisor.
I would tell prospective students that pursuing graduate studies at UofG is a good choice, as they provide students with the opportunity to learn in a classroom, along with research opportunities. The research opportunities give you an opportunity to put the knowledge you learned in the classroom into a real-life situation. The research that you will pursue will add valuable information to the academic and industry community.
