Raised in the Valley of Mansehra in Northern Pakistan, Soil and Crop Sciences Ph.D. candidate Huma Tariq recalls some of her earliest childhood memories: playing outside all day among the apple orchard, in a sleepy town where almost everyone knew everyone else and the only rule was to be home by sunset. Her passion for environmental engineering was sown here, through her upbringing at the foot of the beautiful mountain range.

After her undergraduate career at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad, Pakistan, she enrolled at the U.S. Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water where she obtained her M.S. in environmental engineering—but she was nowhere close to slowing down.

Huma secured a Fulbright Scholarship and arrived at CSU in 2019. She joined Thomas Borch’s lab last year, and her research primarily assesses the impact of irrigating crops with water recovered from oil and gas wells in Colorado.

Ultimately, she hopes attaining her Ph.D. will give her the professional tools to help fix the worsening agricultural landscape of Pakistan. For this reason, Huma is excited to return to Pakistan, but also because she misses her friends and family.

“Back home from your childhood to adulthood, society is different,” says Huma. "You never feel lonely because of the close-knit community structure and strong bonds with family, friends, neighbors and colleagues. People have more emotional availability and time for you."

While Huma makes no formal complaints about her experience as an international student at CSU, there are challenges inherent.

“I enjoy my time here,” says Huma, "but I would lie If I tell you there aren't any instances when you feel invisible or out-of- place. You sure do—being a non native speaker, the slang is very different here, and above all, sense of humor is very different than our desi humor. Being a grad student, you already have enough on your plate so making an extra effort on conversations sometimes feel a little exhausting." 

When grad school begins to feel overwhelming, Huma likes to spend time with her Pakistani friends.

"We eat desi food together, share grad research snafus, exchange community gossip, and watch standup comedy shows online," says Huma. "It is therapeutic to say the least, every one should try it."

Huma's husband arrived in Fort Collins last year to participate in the Water Resources Management Graduate Program, also on a Fulbright Fellowship. Since his arrival, Huma has felt more relaxed and better equipped to handle the international graduate student experience here at CSU. They expect to return to Pakistan together to develop solutions in agriculture.

"My international experience has given me a lot perspective and clarity," says Huma. "I am more independent and comfortable in my skin now."

Nathan Mueller, an agriculture researcher at Colorado State University who was not involved in the new study, warns that the mild weather conditions that have helped corn are unlikely to be permanent in this National Geographic Article.

Photo from Pixabay

Feb. 7 | 12-1:30pm | LSC 312

Graduate Professional Development Series:

Develop Your Professional Brand to Expand Career Opportunities

Feb. 8 | 10:30am-3:30pm | LSC

CSU Career Fair

This is your opportunity to meet over 150 companies and organizations on campus to discuss full-time, part-time, internship, seasonal, and volunteer positions. You’ll learn more about employers hiring Rams, and connect with employers that interest you.

Feb. 9 | 11:00am | Virtual

AgBio and SOCR Seminar Series

From sustainable to regenerative ag: aligning the sugar beet story to evolving customer demands. Speaker: Rebecca Larson.

Feb. 9 | 10:30am-3:30pm | Virtual

CSU Virtual Career Fair

Registration is required to sign up for sessions.

Feb. 10| 12-1:30pm

QPR Training

RSVP tothe Student Success Team with the date of the training, full name, email address, and cell phone number. QPR is a nationally recognized, evidenced-based certification training that offers 1.5 hours of CEUs and holds the same weight as a CPR certification.

Feb. 15 | 12-1:30pm | LSC 304-306

Graduate Professional Development Series:

Identify Your Career Development needs to Stradegize Resources

Feb. 16 | 11:00am | Virtual

AgBio and SOCR Seminar Series

CSU and ARS: Working Together to Serve a Common Mission. Speaker: Daren Harmel

Feb. 21 | 12-1:30pm | Virtual

Graduate Professional Development Series:

Career Experiences & Advice: industry Perspectives from Alumni

Feb. 22 | 11:30am-1pm | TBD

Ultimate Taco Twos-Day Potluck

More information and a sign up sheet will come later.

Feb. 16 | 11:00am | Virtual

AgBio and SOCR Seminar Series

Beyond “women’s traits”: Analyzing gender and social differences for inclusive crop varietal design. Speaker: Hale Tufan

SAVE THE DATE

April 4 | TBD | LSC/Virtual

The Future of Ag: Storytelling Café

Join the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Agricultural Experiment Station as we — faculty, staff and students — harness the power of our collective wisdom to shape our future together. [email protected] and [email protected]

More Events on the University Calendar

Open Positions in Soil & Crop Sciences

• Environmental Chemistry Postdoctoral Fellow (Borch/Ippolito)
• Research Associate (I or II) - Department of Soil and Crop Sciences - Open Pool
• Postdoctoral Fellow - Open Pool
• Agronomy Foundation Seed Internship

REU Internship in Plant Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Michigan Technological University

Agronomy Foundation Seed Internship

Seeking 1-2 motivated and enthusiastic undergraduate students for a summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) internship in Dr. Erika Hersch-Green’s Plant Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Lab at Michigan Technological University. This is a 10-week, full-time, paid internship.

Apply by email to Dr. Hersch-Green by March 1.

Start Date: June (flexible)

Pay: $5000 stipend and additional research funds

Contact: Dr. Hersch-Green

Full-time (40 hours per week) student hourly positions with the CSU Foundation Seed Program are available for the summer of 2022 (June 6 to August 19). Students will assist the Foundation Seed program with seed multiplication and purity of winter and spring wheat varieties. It involves roguing fields, weeding, harvest, equipment maintenance, seed conditioning. Lots of sunshine! Internship hours are available. 

Apply through Handshake by May 20.

Start date: June 6, 2022

Pay: $15.00/hr

Contact: Barry Ogg

Emerge as one of the next generation's Susainability Leaders this summer

Take your college experience to the next level with an impactful fellowship! The Search is ON for summer 2022 Sustainability Fellows and fall 2022 Semester in the City Fellows. 

UNH’s Changemaker Collaborative offers high-impact opportunities to students to engage the tools of business, public policy, science, and activism as a force for good to help address some of the world’s most pressing social, economic, and environmental issues. 

Apply here.

Start Date: May 31

Pay: $5,220-$6,500

Contact: Alexis Dwyer

El Sagrado Farm in La Jara, CO is looking for a committed, hard-working employee 

Are you interested in real farm experience? You can learn about: 

•Sustainable Living-We are off the grid, biodynamic and certified organic. 

•Field Crops-We flood irrigate, plant and bale/harvest 70 acres of alfalfa, and 15 acres of wheat and other grains. We use tractors and draft horses to farm these acres. The rest of our 320 acres is dryland pasture. 

•Animals-We have one of the largest herds of Navajo-Churro Sheep in the U.S. We raise them for meat, wool and breeding stock sales. We are expecting over 100 lambs this spring. We also have chickens, horses, guard llamas and guard donkeys. We have about 20 miles of fencing that requires constant maintenance.  

•Market Garden-We raise greenhouse and field vegetable crops with drip irrigation, and sell them locally. 

 Start Date: May 1

Contact: Call Karen Henderson at 720-992-8263 or email Erin Kauffman.

Ginther Farms of Brush Colorado has 2 Openings

Mission statement from Bart Ginther, owner and operator of Ginther Farms in Bush, Colorado:

Taking pride in building all three businesses (Farm, Seed, & Consulting) to their maximum potential. Keeping in mind that many times it’s the little details, the little tasks that make the difference in a business. To learn the most you can the quickest you can – Ask a lot of questions!

Agronomist:

· Water, Soil, and Manure sampling

· Fertilizer recommendations

· Equipment (sprayer and planter) calibrations

· Field scouting for insect, weed and disease problems

· Irrigation scheduling

· Harvest Scheduling

· Generating field reports on Power Agronomy and then delivering weekly reports to the grower

· Communicating with growers, applicators, co workers

Farm/Seed:

· Sorting and delivering seed

· Putting up field signs

· Help at harvest time with harvest, driving truck and field work

o Some later hours/weekends may be required at peak times

· Servicing equipment (tractors, 4wheelers, pickups, sprinklers)

· Complete other duties or tasks at the discretion of Owner/Management

If you are interested in either of these full-time positions, or learning more about pay and benefits, email your resume to Bart Ginther or call at 970-768-2883.

Student Success Team

Addy Elliott (she, her, hers)

Assistant Dean – Student Success and Advising ([email protected])



Elias G. Quiñonez (he, him, his)

Manager of Student Life and Diversity

([email protected])

Susan Brown (she, her hers)

Recruiting Coordinator ([email protected])

Matt Camper (he, him, his)

Assistant Dean – Teaching Practice and Academic Programs

([email protected])

Sam Holtshouser (she, her, hers)

Career Education Manager ([email protected])

CSU Health Network

CSU Health Network provides a wide range of health and well-being services, both in-person and by phone and secure videoconference. Available services include primary care, pharmacy, counseling, psychiatry, physical therapy, women’s care, transgender care, spiritual care, tobacco cessation and others. Visit health.colostate.edu to learn more and call (970) 491-7121 to make an appointment.

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