Alumni Spotlight

Name: Karen Schneck

Current Title: Senior Research Specialist

Organization: ScottsMiracle-Gro

Majors: B.S. Horticulture - Greenhouse Management and minor in Entomology 2018, M.S. Ornamental Horticulture 2020

 

K-State College of Ag is proud to recognize alumni from all departments who continue to pursue their passion in their respective fields. It is through experience that we continue to grow as individuals and stewards of the industry. Through those experiences, we hope to be a continued resource for the next generation of K-State students to lean on for advice and continue to build our network!

Why K-State College of Agriculture, and what made you decide to choose Greenhouse Management?

I chose K-State because I love Kansas, and it was a new place for me. I was involved in horticulture judging through 4-H, and the state contest took place at K-State. I was able to go on different tours of K-State throughout my career as a member of both 4-H and FFA. There was just something that really clicked for me there. The types of programs that were available to the professors that I got to talk to before I became a student just felt right. I have no regrets at all in choosing K-State.

So I love plants. I would say my beginning interests and desire in horticulture started really early and really young with my grandmother in her flower garden. She taught me how to arrange flowers and how to grow different kinds of cut flowers. My mother and I would put together different combinations of flowers and that was something that I was always really fond of.

As I got a bit older, I joined 4-H and participated in horticulture judging, and I really started to find my love for horticulture through that program. I was fortunate enough to win the plant science record book for the state and got to the National 4-H Congress in Atlanta. In high school, I was a part of FFA, and that was my first hands-on experience with the greenhouse. We were able to take plant science courses, and I got to grow a flower crop to sell it for a spring sale. That's when I really started to become interested in the plant production part of horticulture.

So I knew I loved flowers, and now I know that I love growing flowers, and the end of that, of course, is the consumer. Knowing that I can grow something that makes someone happy and brings light and color to their garden always brings me joy. In college, I specialized in greenhouse management, and honestly, that passion lasted me all the way through. I did a six-month internship in Skagit Valley, Washington, where I worked at a major greenhouse and another in Iowa, where I worked at another greenhouse. In Iowa, I got to coordinate their trial gardens, and that's where I started to learn a little bit about what else you can do in horticulture.

When I came back that fall, I decided to pursue a master's because I really became interested in the research side of horticulture.

How did you get to where you are now within your career at ScottsMiracle-Gro?

At the end of my master's during Covid and I was a bit concerned about how I was going to find a job.

In December, when I graduated, I found a job listing for ScottsMiracle-Gro on LinkedIn and thought it looked interesting. I looked at the job description, and it was for an annual and perennial trial coordinator. I was very fortunate to stumble across this opportunity because it was/is exactly what I wanted to do.

I wanted to be a trial coordinator for either a genetic company or a public university. Around graduation time, I was able to apply for it. Given the circumstances with COVID, I had to go through quite a rigorous virtual interview process but I was hired in March. I know if it wasn't for COVID, I would've been brought out to Ohio to conduct the interview. I got to give a presentation to the different scientists so I decided to give part of my master's defense.

I was hired to be the trial coordinator and moved to Ohio. I have been with ScottsMiracle-Gro since March 2021. My role is still as the trial coordinator, more specifically, the annual trial coordinator. They ended up deciding to split the job before I was hired, but I now have a few more responsibilities. I also do some vegetable and herb production research for Bonnie Plants. It's really fun.

What advice would you give to current students in the College of Agriculture at K-State?

I would say the time you spend at college is an incredible time. I know people have a lot of regrets. Oh, I wish I was still in college, or I wish I had done that or this. Just take the path and know when you need to change paths, but do everything possible to make yourself happy, to grow yourself, to learn, and to know that life has so much more left to come. College is a wonderful place, but there's more afterward. And I think knowing that and not getting bogged down in the day-to-day moments and knowing that what you're doing now is preparing for your future is extremely important.