Voiceover: Do you care to share
a little bit of your background with us?
-: Sure, my name is Kevin Korus.
And I'm originally from Nebraska,
a small town in Nebraska called Lindsay,
which is a couple hours away from Lincoln.
I came to Lincoln after I graduated high school
and I got my undergraduate degree in horticulture.
I knew that I always had a calling to study plants.
I have no idea where it came from.
But it took over and that's what I wanted to do.
So, I got my undergrad degree in horticulture
at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
And during that time got offered an assistantship
for a masters degree in plant pathology.
I discovered that I was really, really good
at killing plants, better at that than growing plants.
So, plant pathology seemed to really fit.
And while I was getting both degrees here
at the University of Nebraska, I had heard talk
of the Doctor of Plant Health program being developed.
So, it was in the works
while I was still here at the University.
And the whole time I heard about this,
I heard about some of the proposed
course curriculum and I was very interested
in getting this all-encompassing view
of plant systems biology.
So, when the Doctor of Plant Health program
finally came to fruition, I was graduating
with my Masters degree so everything lined up perfectly.
And the Doctor of Plant Health is just the perfect
compliment for me because I want this
all-encompassing total systematic view
of plant systems biology, which is what we get
with the curriculum in the DPH program.
Voiceover: All right, Kevin, what so you want to do
once you receive your DPH degree?
-: Well, during the course of
the Doctor of Plant Health program
a position opened up at the University of Nebraska Lincoln
to be the coordinator
of the plant and pest diagnostic clinic.
So, I took that position.
I've always been drawn to diagnostics.
I like the problem-solving aspect of plant systems biology.
I like to be able to look at our patients, the plants,
and try to speak with them and understand what they're
to tell us through their symptoms.
And through that develop a diagnostic as to
why that plant is producing that particular symptom.
I also work heavily in extension.
So, I would like with my Doctor of Plant Health degree
to facilitate that link between the research
and the people who are actually
out there growing the plants.
And to take what we know about the research
and communicate that to growers so that they can
improve their cropping systems and get higher yields
and solve their disease or pest problems.