Alumni Profiles - Meet Susan Barton
Hometown: Wayne, PA
Years of Graduation: B.S. 1981, Ph.D. 2005
Major: Plant Science
Campus Involvement:
Horticulture Club, Phi Kappa Tau Little Sister
Current Position of Employment or Education:
Extension Specialist and Associate Professor
Describe your best Ag experience:
I loved being a TA for Herbaceous Plants with Dick Lighty and Woody Plants with Charlie Dunham.
Which Ag course was your favorite and why?
Landscape design courses were my favorite. Conrad Hammerman was an inspirational character and it was exciting to learn how to design landscapes.
Tell us about your current position or program of study and what led you to that field.
I knew I was interested in landscape horticulture in high school and chose UD for the plant science program. I worked at a garden center, nursery and landscape company throughout college and for one year after I graduated. Then I went to grad school at North Carolina State because I decided I wanted to teach. I got my Masters degree and then started teaching at Fayetteville Technical College in NC. After one year I was offered my current position as Extension Specialist at UD and jumped on the opportunity.
How did your College of Ag experiences prepare you for your current job or post-graduate education?
I had a good foundation in plant science and had no problem going on to graduate school. The plant ID courses were probably the most important for learning a skill that I used while I worked in the landscape industry. Everything comes back to knowing the plants and how they function in the landscape.
What advice do you have for students interested in your field?
Get involved in activities and do as many internships as you can. The more work experience you have, the more you will know and the easier it will be to get a full time job when you graduate. .
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