News

By Emma Geldart

Megan McCully (Class of ’15) has a passion for plants.

But she didn’t always know she loved plants.

“Plants are very interesting to me,” she says. “They are diverse, powerful and have been around much longer than us. We couldn’t live without plants and we have a lot to learn from them.”

In her final year at Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture, Megan is studying plant science. She’s interested in fruit production and problems within the food industry with insects and disease, but this is a new and growing interest for her. Growing up in Great Village, NS, she admits she didn’t always have an interest in plants.

“My dad is interested in plants and gardening,” she explains. “My parents always had a garden growing up so maybe that’s where my interest comes from. Growing up I was more interested in animals than plants.”

After her first year of classes, Megan applied for several summer jobs on campus. She ended up getting a job in the plant science department. It was during that summer that Megan realized she was very interested in plant science.

“I found myself asking questions everyday about the plants we were working with,” Megan explains. “I realized plant science was something that I could see myself doing and something that sparked my interest.”

Megan worked with two other students in the plant science department. Together they were in charge of general maintenance and the care of the Dal AC demonstration garden and orchard on campus. They were also required to collect data from a research plot at Millen Farms in Great Village.

“The purpose of the research plot was to compare strawberry varieties based on yield and quality,” Megan says. “We harvested it three times a week and collected data. We weighed each variety for yield, and rated each variety for shelf life, sugar content, berry width and taste.”

In her second year, Megan knew that plant science was the right program for her. Showing an interest in all of her classes, she made good grades and didn’t struggle with the course material.

“It’s easy to be good at something you enjoy,” she explains. “The hardest part for me was time management. You need to have a balance between doing well in your classes but also making time for friends, family and other things you enjoy.”

Throughout her entire academic career, Megan worked part time at Wilson’s Gas Stop in Great Village. In addition to that job, she worked full time with the plant science department one summer and worked on Millen Farm’s the following two summers. Along with working part-time throughout her degree, Megan also plays hockey on the Colchester Women’s Recreational Hockey League.

“I love to stay active and enjoy working, right now I am taking six courses in order to graduate this spring. It makes for a fast paced semester but I don’t know what I would do with myself if I didn’t stay busy,” she laughs.

After all of her hard work, Megan is now set to graduate this spring. After graduation she will be working a few hours a week at Millen Farms and last week she accepted a full time job at Cavendish Agri-Services in Truro as a Crop Scout/Sales Representative. While her new employment at Cavendish is seasonal for now, she knows that she is in the right place and hopes that this opportunity will lead her into something more.

“If the seasonal work continues into full time work, then that would be perfect” she explains. “If not, I have considered doing my Masters. I am not sure where I will end up but I feel like I am on the right track.”

As for her time at Dal AC, Megan is proof that you don’t need to have a specific career in mind to further your education.

“If you don’t have a career figured out when you graduate high school that is not a bad thing” she says. “If you don’t know what you want to do, be positive and go with your gut feeling. For me, it was science. I knew I was interested in biology and knew that a bachelor of science would be a good place for me to start. With hard work and drive you will end up in the right place.”