Megan Lewien

Megan Lewien

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Washington State University PhD student and researcher in drought resistance for plants Megan Lewien has an intriguing story about her interest in agriculture. "I love that I get to be in the field doing phenotyping, selecting and identifying plants that will grow better under changing climate conditions. It is my passion. I would much rather be out in the field every day but I can't do that because I also need to be inside analyzing stuff. Where did you get your passion? Did you grow up a farm? I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, an agricultural community with more dairy farming and corn and soybeans. Went to school at University of Wisconsin, Madison which is a land-grant University and I did not find a passion for agriculture until about my sophomore year. I took a plant propagation course and just loved it. I saw all the people working in that field and realized it was an area for me. Then I started working in plant pathology which was more field-based and helping identify pathogen resistant plants. From there I just continued with agriculture and decided I needed to go to grad school because the people for whom I was working was what I wanted to be. In order to do that I needed to go get a higher degree. It was kind of just luck. I always worked in the garden and loved outside but never thought plant breeding in sustainable agriculture was my field.
Previous ReportCool Farmers
Next ReportPilots and Drones