Adam Uhls graduated from the Darr College of Agriculture with his Master’s degree in Plant Science. Uhls recently wrote a thank you letter to President Smart to extend his gratitude for the influence Dr. Wenping Qiu, Director of the Center for Grapevine Biotechnology, and Sylvia Petersen, Research Specialist II Environmental Plant Sciences and Natural Resources, had on his life as being both a student and employee for the university.
Throughout the letter, he shares about the Plant Biotechnology course taught by Dr. Qiu and Mrs. Petersen. Notably, the impact of course led in-class discussions left a lasting impression on Adam.
When asking Dr. Qiu about Adam being his former student, he states “Adam sets his career goals firmly and has prepared himself in full gears to reach his goals. Adam took the most challenging course in the plant science program and completed it successfully. With minimal background in this course, he acquired the knowledge in molecular biology and biotechnology to the maximum”. Dr. Qiu continued, “Adam is a creative thinker who has made critical comments for improving research designs to his colleagues; Adam is an independent doer, developing and advancing the much-needed scientific methods. Adam is just an ideal, brilliant, sharp, and superb graduate student a professor wants to advise”.
Dr. Qiu’s guidance impacted Uhls ability to overcome his anxiety of public speaking. His influence has led to Uhls’ successful presentations around the Midwest.
Sharing about Uhls’ expediential growth, Dr. Qiu states “Adam is a vivid testimonial of MSU’s core virtue and value in education, that is to transform a student’s life by caring for, having passion for, designing the personalized course for, and providing the best opportunities to succeed.” Throughout Uhls’ collegiate career, he grew in his knowledge and as a person. “Adam has been transformed from a timid student who escaped from a fearful student presentation to the one who can speak confidently in classrooms and in a professional conference. This is because we have put confidence in him and encouraged him to face up failures and fight with frustrations”.
Uhls concludes with heart felt appreciation to his mentors stating, “Without them, I would never have been able to be where I am today, and not recognizing their actions would truly be a disservice on my part. Thank you, President Smart, for providing an environment for students to thrive”.
Today, you can find Uhls developing crops for the future while working at Bayer Crop Science in St. Louis, Missouri. Uhls speaks for past and current students as the staff of the Darr College of Agriculture continues to make an impact on the lives of students.