Spring 2009 Graduates
Undergraduates
Matthew Alcala
Name: Matthew Alcala
Degree: Bachelor's in Turfgrass Management
Future Plans: Matt will be pursuing his Masters degree in Turfgrass Management under Dr. Ryan Goss this Fall.
Gjertrud "Sierra" Aney
Name: Gjertrud "Sierra" Aney
Degree: Bachelor's in Soil Science
Future Plans: Get married & have kids. She is hoping to get a job that will allow her to work outdoors - one of the reasons she chose her major.
Christopher Arrigo
Name: Christopher Arrigo
Degree: Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science
Future Plans: Chris and his fiance plan to get married in Las Vegas, NV this June. He will start his master's degree in Agronomy/Environmental Science this Fall2009. In the future he hopes to get a house and eventually land a research job.
William Bosland
Name: William Bosland
Degree: Bachelor's in Turfgrass Management
Future Plans: Will was accepted to attend the Jacobsen's Future Turf Manager's Seminar to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina May 18-21, 2009. He plans to become Assistant in training for the NCGA (Northern Californian Golf Association) at the Olympic club in San Francisco.
Colleen Boyd
Name: Colleen Boyd
Degree: Bachelor's in Agronomy
Future Plans: Colleen is planning on applying to the UC Santa Cruz program in sustainable food systems. She envisions operating an organic farm to support abused women and children.
Alida Burchett
Name: Alida Burchett
Degree: Bachelor's in Horticulture
Future Plans: Alida will move to Ft. Stewart Ga where her husband is stationed and work in a nursery.
Charlene Carr
Name: Charlene Carr
Degree: Bachelor's in Soils
Future Plans: Charlene will continue on to graduate school for a M.S. and Ph.D. in soil science so she can contribute to research in soil science, and go into an academic career. She wants to reach and inspire other American Indian students as a professor and eventually return to the reservation, to be a voice for environmental education in her tribal community.
Barry Dungan
Name: Barry Dungan
Degree: Bachelor's in Turfgrass Horticulture
Future Plans: Barry plans to attend graduate school here at NMSU under Dr. Mary O'Connell after graduating. He really enjoyed working hands-on with her during his time as Undergraduate.
Michael Kilroy
Name: Michael Kilroy
Degree: Bachelor's in Horticulture
Future Plans: Michael will be pursuing a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture at UNM.
Elizabeth Strycker
Name: Elizabeth Strycker
Degree: Bachelo's in Horticulture/ landscape design
Future Plans: She will stay home with her son and work on landscape designs from her home studio.
Mark Swapp
Name: Mark Swapp
Degree: Horticulture/Landscape Design and a B.A. in Foreign languages: Spanish
Future Plans: He will be starting a master’s in landscape architecture at Texas A&M in the fall.
Jason Tomko
Name: Jason Tomko
Degree: Bachelor's in Turfgrass Management
Future Plans: Jason is planning on working at Ridgewood Country Club this following summer and possibly into the future. His overall goal is to become a superintendent at a golf course.
Michael Woodard, Jr.
Name: Michael Woodard, Jr.
Degree: Horticulture
Future Plans:Michael hopes to open a conservatory for rare and endangered orchid species one day.
Graduates
Mingxiong "David" Pang
Name: Mingxiong "David" Pang
Degree: Ph.D. in Agronomy/Cotton breeding
Future Plans: He is currently a Postdoc at at the University of Texas at Austin. Mingxiong will continue to work on cotton research and focus on using cotton fiber development as a model to explore cell wall and cell differentiation.