Kelly Jacobson '15 steps outside her comfort zone harvesting small fruits as an intern at Virginia Tech's local agricultural research center
By Staff | October 6, 2014
As an intern at Virginia Tech’s Hampton Roads Agricultural and Research Extension Center (AREC)—a facility neighboring Virginia Wesleyan on Diamond Springs Road in Virginia Beach—Kelly Jacobson ’15 planned to spend summer 2014 learning about the science of plants. And while she definitely honed her botany skills, it turns about she also learned a lot about herself in the process. With plans to one day pursue a career in marine biology, the earth and environmental sciences and biology major learned the importance of stepping outside her comfort zone and the valuable life-shaping lessons that can come as a result. Here, in her own words, Jacobson describes her experience harvesting strawberries and blackberries as part of AREC’s Small Fruits Program.
Outdoor Internship
By Kelly Jacobson ’15
As a country girl, I thought working outdoors all summer would be a blessing. I know how to farm, grow fruits and vegetables, and there’s no such thing as too much sun...or so I thought. Who knew there were more cultivars (varieties) of strawberries and blackberries than there are states in this country? This summer I had the pleasure of expanding my scientific knowledge from animals and aquatic life to that of terrestrial flora at Hampton Roads Agricultural and Research Extension Center (AREC), provided by Virginia Tech.
Very early on in my internship I learned that teamwork was essential to accomplishing our work efficiently and in a timely manner. It was also important to beat the weather—the heat of the sun, the stinging summer rains and the nuisance of sweat bees and other pests. I learned about fruits from VWC alumna Mikel Conway ’14, who now works at AREC as the project oversight of the Small Fruits Program and guru of all things outdoors. The back-breaking work of strawberry harvest was made easier when Sydney Covey ’15 joined our team. With Mikel’s direction, we were able to quickly jump into the heart of strawberry season, setting up plots at grower sites and learning about the various plasticulture (types and colors of plastics atop the plants used in deterring weed growth) used in each trial.
My research focused on the harvest of fruits at various locations across Virginia; from a county three hours away called Charlotte Court House to right down the road in Pungo. The Small Fruits Program placed an emphasis on the diseases and pests associated with strawberries, as well as the marketable and non-marketable yields when subjected to various treatments. Berries were separated based on category of their appearance and health. Data from the harvests and samples collected were used to compare sugar content, size, and fruit yield biomass based on treatments and variety at each farm. I developed a newfound appreciation for the pints of strawberries found in local grocery stores, as I now know firsthand that the work is extremely tiresome and demanding.
Strawberry season ended in the middle of July, just in time for the start of blackberry season. Blackberry harvest was much welcomed by Sydney, Mikel and I, as it required significantly less physical labor in the hot summer sun. Essentially the same process of measuring fruit yield biomass, size, and sugar content was performed on blackberries, but a difference from strawberry season was that plant health ratings were recorded at every harvest, based on the leaf discoloration, severity of diseases found, level of bug interference and damage, presence of flowers, and color of the berries. While the demise of strawberries was commonly disease, the downfall of blackberries this season was the damage from pests including the Japanese Beetle, Spotted-Wing Drosophila and Stinkbug. Berries could often be found with small white caterpillar-like larvae wiggling about within them. Several times we would bite into a perfectly healthy looking berry and see larvae staring into our souls. Sydney, Mikel, and I stopped sneaking berries after we came across those little guys!
I was able to learn a lot about pesticides from the growers themselves. A common pesticide used by the growers was Pristine, aimed at minimizing the spread of disease and improving plant health and quality. I was shocked that so many of the growers (both strawberry and blackberry) used this specific pesticide, as it is organic and quite pricey. It was great to see that although the growers were driven by sales and consumer relations, they were focused on protecting the environment as well, no matter the cost. These people gave just as much back to the Earth as they took, which was a beautiful thing to experience.
The opportunity to work as a summer intern for the Small Fruit Production Department of Virginia Tech Hampton Roads AREC was both interesting and enjoyable. I learned much about field research and realized that to be a good scientist you have to work hard, but to be a spectacular scientist you have to dedicate yourself to every task and step outside of your comfort zone to achieve an ultimate goal. Years from now I will look back at the summer I spent at AREC and be happy about working outdoors, pushing myself, and expanding my knowledge of botany altogether.
My advice to anyone seeking an internship is to take whatever opportunities you have, step outside of your comfort zone, and remember to stay positive throughout your journey. You never know what will become of it.
Originally printed in the fall 2014 issue of the Honors and Scholars newsletter, the Intellectual Inquirer.