Hello everyone! My name is Aishwarya Penmetcha, and I am new Student Farm intern. I am in my senior year in the Eberly College of Science. My major is Statistical Modeling Data Sciences and I’m minoring in Astronomy and Planetary Science. I am also an undergraduate research assistant here at Penn State working on a project in astronomy, which I am very passionate about.
Another one of my passions is agriculture and farming. Growing up in south India in a metropolitan city called Hyderabad, I didn’t have much access to farms, but I was fortunate enough live in a house with a backyard where my mother would grow all kinds of stuff. We even have our own mango tree that’s indigenous to the area, along with a variety of flowers including one which is apparently used for making perfumes. My father has also been experimenting with cultivating black and red rice in rice paddies in a rural area in India. I have taken inspiration from both my parents to get involved in agriculture in some form or the other. I have some house plants of my own which include bamboo, snake plant and golden pothos, which I love dearly as they brighten up my apartment.
So far in my internship, I’ve had the opportunity to work with the Student Farm’s wholesale data from the 2021 growing season. This allowed me to shed some light on the profits made by the Student Farm in the past year. Along with understanding the breakdowns of different crops and analyzing the data, I hope to also make suggestions for future data gathering and statistical analysis that will hopefully benefit the future generations of interns that continue the legacy of the Student Farm at Penn State. I also had the opportunity to visit the 4-acre farm and be a part of the seed starting project for the 2022 growing season. This gave me an idea of how back-breaking farming can be. However, one important aspect I must admit is, that it is extremely satisfying when you see the results. I experienced this when I saw the flower saplings that I helped start and can’t wait for them to be in full bloom.
I am also excited to volunteer at the greenhouse and the Student Farm over the summer to aid in the production of crops. My goal is to learn as much as possible about sustainable farming practices and hope to carry on the techniques and practices I learn when I own my own farm one day.