LeAnn Lux

I would say the support from my family and my fiance has been crucial to my success. They've always been encouraging, pushing me through especially through graduate school, and now that I've started this position, my fiance has been supportive of me getting involved and taking on students. I also attribute my success to my mentors in this field, particularly my advisor from graduate school. He was in extension, which led me down that road of seeing it firsthand when you're working with a grower out in the field - you can really see the impact of the research that comes out of these land-grant universities. The way he navigated things and managed the program overall, balancing students and other parts of the job, really influenced me. He had a big open-door policy and was always available to talk and help with anybody that was around and needing it.

The best career advice I’ve received came from the example set by my graduate advisor—watching how he balanced program management, supported his students, handled professional responsibilities, and maintained an open-door policy showed me the importance of leadership, accessibility, and mentorship in building a successful career.

I think just going in with an open mind and open eyes, just to take it in. There are so many different avenues that you can take, so keeping that open mind of what you could even do with the type of research that is in this field, or even the types of jobs, is important. I have students now who are struggling to find positions, but I tell them to keep an open mind, and you might fall into something you love.

I would say input prices are really expensive for growers right now, and they're trying to make things pencil out. They're struggling with where they can make the decisions of making an application, say on a fungicide or another type of input, just because commodity prices are so low. From my experience growing up on a farm, I've learned that we'll get research and it'll say this thing, but it's not always going to apply. The farmers always know their land and operations the best. If it doesn't work for them, they know what's going on. You can always see what the research says, but that doesn't apply to everything. So you've got to roll with whatever life is throwing at you at that moment and say it's okay, it won't work here, but we can move forward and try to adjust some of those things so that they can be implemented on a grower's farm.

Growing up on a farm has shaped my values significantly. I've learned that while research provides important guidance, it's not always going to apply to every situation. The farmers always know their land and operations the best, and if something doesn't work for them, they know what's going on. You can always see what the research says, but that doesn't apply to everything. So you've got to roll with whatever life is throwing at you at that moment and be willing to adjust so that research can be implemented on a grower's farm in a way that actually works for them. I also believe strongly in mentorship - having students graduate from the program is one of the things I'm most proud of. It's rewarding to shape the younger generation that will go on to be collaborators in the same field and have students of their own one day.