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A woman stands in a field.
Gabby Garcia in the field at a New York dairy farm.
Field Note

Gabby Garcia: “We will never stop learning”

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  • Agriculture
  • Field Crops
  • Crops
  • Soil

Gabby Garcia joined Cornell CALS’ Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) as an intern from Zamorano University hoping to expand upon her knowledge of agriculture. During her time at Cornell, she worked on the rainfall simulation project alongside Carlos Irias. Now, with more experience under her belt, she is excited to dive into an agricultural science focused master’s program and bring her newfound insight back to her home country, Belize.

What did you learn from working on the rainfall simulation project?

Working with the rainfall simulator was a unique experience. The first thing that I learned from this project was that reading about the work and seeing it in action is not the same. 

Sometimes it had issues and we had to wait, be patient, or look for other strategies, which I think was a very beneficial experience. Plus, it was so great working with Carlos, we learned many new things together.

A woman holds soil and stands next to a large pile of soil.
Gabby Garcia holds rich soil in her hands.
A series of empty jars attached to a series of pans of soil and manure on a table in a room. Funnels connect the pans to the jars.
The rainfall simulator, poised for action before a rainfall event. Photo by Lily Blyn.

Something that I came to realize though, is that sometimes the results of the experiment are not what you would expect– but it’s an experiment, by nature, that’s going to happen sometimes. 

I was very new to a lot of the specific topics when I first came here, and I wanted to know exactly why we were doing each step in the research project, the reasons behind our methods. After reading many research articles in detail, I was able to catch on and learn a lot about specific nutrients and how they behave.

Overall, I learned a lot from this experience and I can’t believe how fast the four weeks of running rainfall simulations flew by.

What were the biggest challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them? 

When I first came here, I was new to a lot of things. I’ve worked in a laboratory before, but this one was completely different– the equipment, the methods, all of it was new, but in a good way. I’m really glad that I got the opportunity to immerse myself in this environment and learn so much. Also, in several of our weekly project meetings we discussed papers and that helped me better understand literature. It was not as easy as I thought it would be to read and understand publications but it was a great exercise.

A bunch of people sitting at tables. The tables are roughly in a circle. The people watch a screen and presentation at the front of the room.
A team meeting where Issa Diaz, PhD student, is presenting. Photo by Quirine Ketterings.
A woman deposits a substance into a test tube under a fume hood.
Gabby Garcia performs lab work under a fume hood.
How was your experience with NMSP overall?

Very good, I think that the whole team supports each other and communicates well, and that’s the key for a group to be successful. I felt so welcome when I first came here. I really appreciated that my mentor Carlos always had my back, he supported me in every way. 

It was a great experience overall, I would recommend it to anyone who thinks they might be interested in academia or research. I didn’t just learn about my own work and the research that I was doing, I learned about different perspectives, other team members’ projects, how to manage my work, more ways of interacting with others. I got a little bit of everything, and that helped me grow a lot as a person.

A man and a woman smile together on the left of a screen with a presentation slide on it, a woman stands on the right of the screen and smiles as well.
Master's student Carlos Irias Barahona (left), Gabby Garcia (middle) and Dr. Ketterings pose together after Gabby Garcia completes her final presentation.
A group smiles with their arms around each other, with a lake and a tree in the background.
NMSP poses together in Stewart Park after a celebratory picnic.
What are your plans going forward and how did your time here at Cornell prepare you for what’s to come?

I am sure now that I really want to do a master’s degree in agriculture, something in crop sciences or soil– there’s a big need for that in my country and I would love to study something that I can apply there. When I first came here, it was on my mind, but now I have decided for sure.

After that, I hope to go back to Belize and bring my knowledge with me to help support farmers there. I really want to help my country grow. 

Sometimes you think you already know a lot of things but it’s not like that– you will never stop learning! I need to know so much more, why not continue getting more knowledge? Seeing everybody here completely immersed in their topics, changing the world, applying their knowledge– I want this, I want to continue growing so I can get to this point. I am grateful for my time here and now feel much more confident in my direction going forward.

Madeline Hanscom ‘22 is the science communications assistant for Cornell CALS' Nutrient Management Spear Program.

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