Meet Amanda, Graduate Ambassador
“Nobody thinks about the soil but it’s fascinating! Especially the chemical and biological parts of soil.” That’s what Amanda thinks.
She is working to get her Master’s degree in Soil Science at NMSU’s Plant and Environmental Science Department in the College of Agriculture and Home Economics. Amanda is certain she will be successful in her chosen course of study because she believes her professors are “awesome, awesome people. They stay involved in your school life. They know you. They want to see you succeed and they put the effort into seeing you do that.” She is especially enthusiastic when discussing her research into monitoring microbial degradation of pecan wood chips as a source of phytoavailable nitrogen in pecan orchards.
A vivacious student, Amanda obtained her B.S. in Biology from NMSU where she says her experiences as an intern have really broadened her horizons. She has worked summers at the Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico and Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. Ask her and she’ll tell you about how she’s backpacked through a volcano and slept on the beach. (“It was amazing. An awesome adventure.”) She’s spent ten hours a day on horseback and “lost a few four-wheelers.” Her internships have introduced her to so many new elements/(facets of the world) and yet her proudest achievement to date is simply “having the guts to go out there and do those things.”
Presently working as a teaching assistant in the P.E.S. Department, Amanda is thrilled about her upcoming internship where she’ll be directing several bioremediation projects for a privately owned and environmentally conscious southwestern oil company based in New Mexico.