By Sue Dieter
Kirsten Sharpe Moser ’14, Bemidji, started classes at the University of Minnesota Morris undecided about a major and with no idea what job she might want after she graduated. And at no point during her studies at UMN Morris did she ever imagine that her future would involve dairy cows.
But it was a solid liberal arts education combined with a love of animals and the outdoors that Moser says put her on this career pathway. And she considers herself lucky to have found her place in Morris.
Moser ultimately chose environmental science for her major and found her purpose in those classes.
“I took Ed Brands’ Environmental Problems and Policy class, which focused on different environmental issues and problems spanning the world. That class just really opened up my eyes to all sorts of issues that we discussed. Another class that really had an impact on me was Ecology with Pete Wyckoff. It really opened up my eyes to how the world is so interconnected and if one small thing changes, it could really impact a whole ecosystem, the whole world.”
During her junior year, Moser started working part time at the West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) in Morris. After graduating, she accepted a full-time position at WCROC working in renewable energy.
“I used a lot of the skills that I had learned in my classes in my first job so it was very valuable to me. You realize that you can do things that you never thought that you would be able to do.”
In addition to renewable energy, WCROC faculty conduct research in agronomy and soil science, dairy, horticulture, renewable energy and swine.
Moser admits that agriculture was always daunting to her.
“You know, I had never been around big farm equipment and large animals. But going through my undergraduate career, I really opened up and I branched out and I took risks, so that helped me become comfortable taking this risk of exploring agriculture. I decided to pursue an advanced degree. I've always loved animals, so I decided to go for animal science and got my master's degree.”
Moser found her passion in learning through solving real-world challenges and bringing discoveries to life through science.
“I was able to use my science background from UMM to help me get through my master's and that also helps me in the current position that I have today.”
Moser is a dairy researcher at WCROC.
Ed Brands has invited Moser to speak with several classes, including the environmental studies pre-internship class, about her experiences. “Her encouragement to ask questions, to take initiative, and to find and explore interests has been extremely helpful to many of our students.”
Source : umn.edu