Jelena Herriott is a senior crop and soil sciences major from Decatur, Georgia. One of the greatest challenges she has ever faced is working in a male-dominated field with scientists, engineers and computer scientists.
There are many students on campus that have an individualistic personality, but for Herriot, “I wish people understood the way I think. Often times what comes out of my mouth confuses people because it’s such a unique and eccentric way of thinking. People sometimes can’t understand my thoughts and experiences. Often times I think it scares people, but my abstract and eccentric way of thinking can also impress people.”
Herriott interned at the University of Illinois in Urban Champagne in the summer of 2022, under the mentorship of Dr. Lisa Ainsworth and Elise Aspray.
“I compiled and analyzed SoyFACE treatment data to learn about the effects of carbon dioxide and ozone gases on Soybean and corn crop fumigation. The overall purpose of this internship was to identify trends in the SoyFACE treatment data. Additionally, to determine the effects of wind speed and direction on the accuracy of elevated carbon dioxide and ozone in those treatments,” Herriot said.
Herrit will be presenting her SoyFACE treatment data analysis at the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) conference in Puerto Rico (with the help of the OK-LSAMP program here at Langston University). Her Langston professors were critical to her preparation.
“The mentors I started working with (Mr. Marcio White and Dr. Franklin Fondjo), and eventually grew with, helped shape me academically and professionally. They also provided me with resources towards my accomplishments,” Herriot said.
Herriott’s personal goal during the internship was to improve her computer programming skills and learn to write in the “R” coding language. The “R” language is a programming language for statistical computing and graphics supported by the R Core Team and the R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
Upon graduation, Herriot would like to start a master’s program in Agricultural Engineering and also study crop production in space. After receiving her master’s degree, she would like to become a scientist or agricultural engineer to work with animals, crops and climate change.
She felt her internship helped to prepare her for her career goal, saying “It allowed me to gain further experience in the agricultural and engineering sector. The internship also made me pinpoint the specific field I wanted to study for graduate school which is agricultural engineering.”
Herriot is passionate about music and science. But, she adds, “I am even more passionate about God and my spiritual relationship with him.”
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The Gazette serves as the student voice of Langston University. It is produced within the Department of Communication as a teaching tool and local news source for the campus community. The views and opinions expressed within are those of the writers whose names appear with the articles and do not necessarily represent the views of Langston University.
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