Dr. Kirsten Jaglo (UMM '94) returned to UMM in late October as the 2006 Joseph Latterell Memorial Visiting Alumnus.   This speaker program is privately funded with gifts from alumni, faculty, staff and friends of UMM.   The idea is to bring science & math alumni back to campus to interact with current students.

Kirsten's day on campus was full of opportunities for her to meet with students to share her experiences, insights and advice.   She met with science students at breakfast and lunch, spoke to the Ecology class and finished with her evening lecture. Her approach was to tell students about the personal as well as professional aspects of pursuing a career as a scientist.

You have to take a big breath before explaining where Kirsten's science education led her.   She is currently an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, serving in the U.S. Department of State's Office of Global Change.   Her many duties include providing scientific expertise for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Before landing in this interesting job, Kirsten earned her Ph.D in crop and soil science and in plant breeding and genetics at Michigan State University.   Current UMM biology majors, as well as other students in the sciences, found Kirsten's insights full of plain talk regarding the stresses and challenges of pursuing a doctorate--as well as the possible "what next" scenarios when that goal is achieved.

UMM Biology Assistant Professor Timna Wyckoff appreciated the fact that Kirsten's luncheon talk with students explored territory that Timna cannot easily cover with her advisees.

"As a professor, I don't always feel comfortable talking to students about personal life issues so I'm really glad Kirsten did that," Timna says. "It gives our students an opportunity to think about the need to balance personal with professional life. Kirsten talked about dealing with divorce while in grad school.   She pointed out the importance of planning a family life along with making career decisions.   She made it okay for students to think about and talk about these considerations.

"Academia is not necessarily female-unfriendly but it can be family-unfriendly and that often has a greater impact on women. If they start to think about it now, they can strategize ways to deal with life problems when they come up."

Brian Bourne, a UMM biology major, found that listening to Kirsten gave him a new perspective on what he could do with his degree when he leaves UMM.   "You don't always get a sense from profs on how the pieces fall together for a career," he notes.

  "It's useful to hear a successful science professional talk about her personal trials and how it works out.   Her candor was good.   Students need to think about how professional and personal goals are going to mesh--and what to do if those current ideas don't pan out. We don't get many opportunities to talk to someone who's out there doing it."

Julie Fox, another biology major, found it freeing to hear a career scientist admit she didn't decide right off the bat where she was headed in her profession.

"I especially liked the small group talk at lunch because I could ask questions that related to me," Julie says.   "Students want to know what difficulties they're about to face.   We don't always think about the kinds of things Kirsten talked about concerning grad school, like the importance of picking a faculty person to work with and contacting them early.   We need to use the contacts we're developing now.   Her message was to prepare, but remember that the unexpected happens and plans will change."

In addition, Julie found it useful to hear the career story of a scientist who waited a year after graduating from UMM before entering grad school.   She notes that many students carry the fear that if they don't go straight into an MD or PhD program, they might never go back to school.

"Kirsten pointed out that there are a lot of stresses in grad school so it's not good to enter a program when you feel burned out by class work and research," Julie says.   "The 'successful people' can make it all sound nice and easy to do things the expected way, in the expected order.   But you don't have to do that.   Everyone is different."

Life experiences can sometimes provide the added dimension to a professional's background that points the way to an exciting, if unanticipated career shift.   Julie recalls that Kirsten's interest in foreign countries and subsequent travel abroad led her to be well-positioned for a job with the government that requires interactions with people from other cultures.  

"She said that her travels taught her the importance of addressing barriers through communication.   She learned to read people from other cultures and to respect them.   Those travel experiences changed her--oh, and she met her second husband, too!" Julie laughs.

But the lasting message that both Julie and Brian carry from Kirsten's visit to UMM is that life after graduation may be unpredictable and even stressful, but it's also an exciting adventure for young scientists ready to explore the possibilities the world has to offer.

"Oh, and in her talk, she showed pictures of the faculty from back in her days at UMM," Julie says with a grin.   "That was funny. Boy, have they changed since '94!"

Kirsten Jaglo (UMM'94)
She is the second speaker selected for the Joseph Latterell Alumnus program.

Timna Wyckoff

Brian Bourne

Julie Fox

(L-R) Timna Wyckoff, Kirsten Jaglo, Margaret Kuchenreuther. Timna attended UMM at the same time Kirsten was a student here. Margaret was a new UMM prof back then.