Making a new path

Ali Stevenson (agronomy) has always been around plants. Interacting with flowers, forests, and fruits was just the start. Talking with faculty on her visit to Iowa State, she discovered that each of them had a different view but those differences also made them work toward a larger goal.

Students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have the opportunity to work with faculty in the laboratory from their first semester on campus. Ali has worked as a research technician on projects in greenhouses and farms, herbicide research trial plots, and insects.

Ali embraced all the different views and is taking classes in horticulture, entomology, global resource systems, and biology in addition to agronomy. In these classes she has developed a passion to bring agriculture, specifically production of local and fresh foods, to urban areas as well as preserving biodiversity. Combining diverse classes with unique internships and studying abroad, Ali is carving her own unique path.