Kevin Korus - DPH Graduate Student

Nancy Shoemaker Author

10/21/2015 Added

73 Plays

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Kevin Korus shares his background, why he chose UNL and the DPH program, and what he plans to do with his DPH degree

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[00:00:00.071]Do you care to share
[00:00:01.591]a little bit of your background with us?
[00:00:02.601]Sure, my name is Kevin Korus.
[00:00:04.376]And I'm originally from Nebraska,
[00:00:06.316]a small town in Nebraska called Lindsay,
[00:00:08.126]which is a couple hours away from Lincoln.
[00:00:10.686]I came to Lincoln after I graduated high school
[00:00:13.636]and I got my undergraduate degree in horticulture.
[00:00:17.236]I knew that I always had a calling to study plants.
[00:00:19.796]I have no idea where it came from.
[00:00:22.386]But it took over and that's what I wanted to do.
[00:00:25.956]So, I got my undergrad degree in horticulture
[00:00:28.116]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:00:29.816]And during that time got offered an assistantship
[00:00:33.436]for a masters degree in plant pathology.
[00:00:36.496]I discovered that I was really, really good
[00:00:38.976]at killing plants, better at that than growing plants.
[00:00:42.256]So, plant pathology seemed to really fit.
[00:00:44.686]And while I was getting both degrees here
[00:00:46.806]at the University of Nebraska, I had heard talk
[00:00:49.376]of the Doctor of Plant Health program being developed.
[00:00:52.236]So, it was in the works
[00:00:54.936]while I was still here at the University.
[00:00:56.276]And the whole time I heard about this,
[00:00:57.856]I heard about some of the proposed
[00:00:59.456]course curriculum and I was very interested
[00:01:01.956]in getting this all-encompassing view
[00:01:04.696]of plant systems biology.
[00:01:06.396]So, when the Doctor of Plant Health program
[00:01:09.415]finally came to fruition, I was graduating
[00:01:11.676]with my Masters degree so everything lined up perfectly.
[00:01:15.315]And the Doctor of Plant Health is just the perfect
[00:01:17.475]compliment for me because I want this
[00:01:20.296]all-encompassing total systematic view
[00:01:25.176]of plant systems biology, which is what we get
[00:01:27.515]with the curriculum in the DPH program.
[00:01:31.135]All right, Kevin, what so you want to do
[00:01:33.635]once you receive your DPH degree?
[00:01:36.736]Well, during the course of
[00:01:37.756]the Doctor of Plant Health program
[00:01:38.836]a position opened up at the University of Nebraska Lincoln
[00:01:40.836]to be the coordinator
[00:01:43.116]of the plant and pest diagnostic clinic.
[00:01:45.276]So, I took that position.
[00:01:46.516]I've always been drawn to diagnostics.
[00:01:48.516]I like the problem-solving aspect of plant systems biology.
[00:01:52.116]I like to be able to look at our patients, the plants,
[00:01:55.556]and try to speak with them and understand what they're
[00:01:59.495]to tell us through their symptoms.
[00:02:01.616]And through that develop a diagnostic as to
[00:02:05.516]why that plant is producing that particular symptom.
[00:02:10.776]I also work heavily in extension.
[00:02:12.296]So, I would like with my Doctor of Plant Health degree
[00:02:15.556]to facilitate that link between the research
[00:02:19.736]and the people who are actually
[00:02:22.115]out there growing the plants.
[00:02:23.615]And to take what we know about the research
[00:02:25.216]and communicate that to growers so that they can
[00:02:28.506]improve their cropping systems and get higher yields
[00:02:32.356]and solve their disease or pest problems.

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Kevin Korus - DPH Graduate Student

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