The Graduate Student Showcase is an annual event where graduate students across Colorado State University have the opportunity to present their work in a conference-like setting. This year, four of AgNext’s graduate students participated in the event for the first time: Ashley Schilling, Lauren Newman, Inés Mesa, and Mesa Kutz.

Each of the graduate students created a scholarly poster that outlined their research. At the event, the AgNext graduate students presented their work to judges, graduate students, CSU faculty, and industry professionals. Inés Mesa said, “I have never participated in a poster show before. For me, it was very fun and I really like the way that judges came and talked with me. It was a very casual conversation.”

Over 100 graduate students presented their work at the event which took place in the Lory Student Center Grand Ballroom. When asked about her experience at the Showcase, Mesa Kutz said “I think the Graduate Student Showcase was a great opportunity to network with my peers and see other research going on at CSU. It also gave me the opportunity to communicate the research I was doing and the importance of the AgNext program at CSU.”

In addition to promoting the research being done at AgNext by our graduate students, the Graduate Student Showcase is an opportunity to develop professionally. Ashley Schilling and Lauren Newman reflected on their experience at the Showcase, “We believe this developed our communication skills and allowed us to present our research to an audience we don’t often present to.”

At Colorado State University, there are 264 different graduate programs across the university. Because of this, there was a wide breadth of presentations at the Showcase. Mesa Kutz explained how she found correlations with other researchers and her work with tannins: “I had a guy that is studying tannins for use of wine get really excited to see it was being used in different research!”

In addition to getting more recognition for AgNext at the Graduate Student Showcase, it is also great to see our students connecting with peers, presenting their work, gaining industry skills, and developing professionally. We are proud to have driven students at AgNext that dedicate so much of their time and effort to research projects.