Conversation with University of Puerto Rico-Utuado Researcher: Dr. Olgaly Ramos-Rodriguez

Tell us a little about your path into your current field. Who and/or what inspired you to pursue science more generally?

Growing up in the beautiful mountains of Utuado, Puerto Rico, I was surrounded by nature. When you live in a place like this, curiosity about science just sparks. Although we didn’t have a farm, my maternal grandparents grew a variety of plants and would let me and my sisters take care of them and the animals. I also grew up hearing stories about my paternal grandparents’ coffee farm. Agriculture was part of our heritage.

During my first years of college, I was not sure of what I wanted to do professionally. I have always loved science, so I majored in biology at UPR-Mayaguez. It wasn’t until I took an ecology course that I started to figure out my path. The professor who taught the course invited me to help a graduate student in the lab and with field work. I took more ecology and plant science courses, but in my final year I took general entomology. The choice was made! I decided to pursue my master’s degree, and I wanted to study insect-plant interactions. Thanks to my advisors, Dr. Jose Mari Mut and Dr. Alberto Pantoja, I accomplished this and grew as a researcher. When I took the biological control course, I realized that the topic encompassed my favorite subjects and could be helpful for our farmers, so I decided to continue studying that area.

When I finished my master’s, I moved away from Puerto Rico with the hope to come back and teach at the University of Puerto Rico. My grandmother and my mother were educators, and I always saw their passion for their job. My admiration for them contributed to my decision to pursue a career in the academia. I completed my Ph.D. in entomology at Kansas State University with the support of two excellent advisors and mentors, Dr. James Campbell and Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy. They were key in my professional development. During those college years, I also took an agroecology course and read papers by many women agroecologists, including the work of Boricua scientist Dr. Ivette Perfecto and was impressed by her contributions. I later had the pleasure to meet her and other women in the field and have learned enormously from them. I have been lucky to have many people who inspired and mentored me throughout my life, and I hope to do the same for my students. 

How has the NIFA funding shaped your professional development as a scientist?

NIFA has been fundamental in my professional development. When I started teaching at the Department of Agricultural Technology at UPR-Utuado, I participated in multiple trainings offered by NIFA, and I learned more about proposal development and funding opportunities. When I was selected as a Kika de la Garza Fellow in 2017, there were a variety of activities to guide us and help us learn more about the USDA, including information about NIFA programs. Meeting program leaders and learning directly from NIFA staff was key in focusing my ideas and improving my grant writing. My university is an undergraduate campus, and I am in a full teaching position, therefore having access to NIFA funding has been essential for providing students with research experiences.

Thanks to NIFA funding, my colleagues and I have been able to develop research projects with students, provide mentorship opportunities, expand the curricular options in my department, and promote agricultural literacy across multiple schools on our island. We have been exposing students to research while serving their community, have improved our laboratories' capacities, and expanded professional development opportunities. 

Also, I am one of Puerto Rico’s program leaders for the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (NAITCO). Funding from NIFA allows NAITCO programs to reach schools across the country and provide professional development, grants, scholarships, curriculum development and lesson plans for educators in all areas across the curriculum, giving students the opportunity to learn and appreciate the importance of agriculture in our lives. NIFA funding makes a difference.

Catch us up on a recent NIFA-funded project you are working on or just completed? 

The Developing Research Experiences in Agriculture through Mentoring at UPR-Utuado project has provided UPR-Utuado students with mentoring and research development opportunities. Our students’ engagement, desire to learn and their community involvement are inspiring, and with NIFA funding we have been able to help them along the way. Mentored students have developed their projects and have participated in local and national internships and in student exchange. They have also attended conferences, presented their results and learned about graduate school. Students’ projects have been remarkable, and our department is proud to showcase them. 

Last year, we started the Science, Math and Agriculture Resources for Teaching Professional Development Program project and confirmed how much interest teachers have in including agriculture in their courses. We opened the application process to recruit 25 teachers and ended up with more than 900 applications. The selected teachers came to UPR-Utuado for a summer course and are completing an online certification. Now we are working with them to develop their school gardens and incorporate them in their science and math courses. I love that hundreds of kids will be able to learn about agriculture, nutrition and natural resources through this project.

What advice do you have for current students who may be interested in pursuing a similar career path?

Explore different courses, participate in workshops and attend talks. You never know what will inspire you until you experience it. Get involved with your community and see how your work can benefit them. Read scientific papers and pursue research opportunities. If there are internships or grants available, apply! If you do not get them, you will still learn from the application process. Networking will open new doors for you. Talk to your professors and tell them about your interests. They might have projects or know someone that is working on your area of interest.