Mary Hruz

she/her
Undergraduate Fellow
Pawpaw Patrol

This summer, we're assisting Anna [Wassel] with her pawpaw project. Our main objective is to compare the growth, germination, dispersal, and survival of understory plants within a pawpaw patch versus those outside. We're curious to see if the presence of pawpaws affects these factors, considering the low light and unique soil conditions they create.

We have five sites across Tyson. We’re trying to see how many visits we can get in; we want to see how they change and compete with each other throughout the summer. Recently, we planted some transplants from different areas of the forest to assess their survival and compare them to the plants inside and outside the pawpaw patch.

I'm studying forestry, which is a very field-based major. We are outside for all of our labs, and the past two summers I've done outside labor jobs on the management side – so spraying herbicide, using the chainsaw, pulling weeds, mowing, tractor driving, all kinds of stuff like that. I actually really enjoy that. I like sweating and hiking and working hard.

I wanted to do more of an academic-focused summer, something where I can use my brain a little bit more. It's been a good change of pace for me because I still get that outside experience, but I get to think a little bit more. Getting to talk with Anna about all the science has been really different because I'm not really used to working with a lot of other people who are scientifically minded or have such a curiosity for what they're studying. So that's been new.

I honestly don't think grad school is really for me, at least right now in my life. Maybe I'd come back. But I do think it would be really cool for me to apply more of a research mindset to the management side of forestry. I really like how those go hand in hand, how it's like a science and an art. It's gonna be really important for me in the future to be updated on the current science and apply it in my management. I think this summer has been really helpful for me to figure out exactly how I want to use the knowledge that I'm gaining.