Posted: January 2, 2017
Devon Carroll spent a year as an undergraduate research assistant, but is making the leap to graduate school in the Turfgrass Management Lab.
Devon Carroll is the newest graduate student in the lab, though she has been a member of the Kaminski lab team for over a year. Devon worked as an undergraduate student on a research grant provided by the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State. She completed an Agrostis seed germination study, which she presented (and won first place) at the Crop Science Society of America international meeting in Phoenix. She graduated in a mere 2.5 years with a B.S. in Turfgrass Science this past December. Aside from her research, Devon had many other experiential learning opportunities throughout her undergraduate career. She has experience in both golf and sports turf, completing an internship in each at the Country Club of Scranton and PNC Field, home of the Scranton-Wilkesbarre RailRiders. She traveled to Ireland and Scotland through an embedded course to learn about differences in turfgrass management between the UK and the US. Devon also learned from alumni and industry professionals by working the 2016 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club and shadowing the head groundskeeper of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Her overwhelmingly positive experience in Penn State's undergraduate program developed her passion for turf and prompted her to further her education with a graduate degree. Her MS project will be an expansion of her seed germination study which will seek to provide golf course superintendents beneficial information when it comes to managing turf loss from winterkill.
