Student testimonial
Caitlyn Vries, master student Plant Sciences
My fascination for everything that is alive was already clear at high school so after my graduation I started to study Applied Biology at HAS Hogeschool in Den Bosch. At first I thought I would be more interested in animals but during my bachelor I started to be fascinated by plants and all their wonderful methods to survive.
I really like the applied way they think about subjects and the positive vibe around the campus.
Background
In my bachelor time I did two internships, one at the University of Utrecht at the department of plant-eco physiology where I was involved in a research of gene families involved in the flooding response of the marsh dock (a native plant species in the floodplains of the Netherlands) and one in Akumal (Mexico) at a local ecology centre. I lived during that internship in Mexico for five months and was involved in a reef monitoring program as well as in a research in the change in coral algae ratio over five years. After my internships I choose the specialization plant and graduated with a research about an alternative environment friendly seed disinfection method which involved no chemicals and still constituted in 100% pathogen free seed. During that research I discovered that I am really interested in plant diseases as well as plant defense.
Master choice
My bachelor already provide me with a solid basic knowledge about plant development and agriculture but I wanted to know more about plants and especially the ongoing battle between plants and their attackers. During my bachelor I already visited Wageningen University for excursions and lectures. The reason I have chosen Wageningen University is that I really like the applied way they think about subjects and the positive vibe around the campus. Plants Sciences suites my interests really well and the amount of freedom you have in course choice during the master program makes it possible to widely extend your knowledge and still get specialized in one subject. Currently I am in my second master year and I am following some extra courses before I start my thesis in pathology.
Wageningen life
Besides studying, there are a lot of other activities to do in Wageningen. There are many associations or sport clubs which you can join as well as a lot of the evenings activities on the campus such as debates and symposiums. I have joined the student association of plant science (Semper Florens) and I am in the excursion commission of plant science.