Kathleen Herr, Junior Plant Science major
Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
Although her unconventional journey to the University of Maryland has been one full of twists and turns, 23-year-old Kathleen Herr is focused on the path ahead instead of the one behind her.
When she dropped out of high school as an honor roll student at 15-years-old, Kathleen couldn’t have imagined where the next eight years would take her: working full-time in restaurants and grocery stores and eventually living on her own in New York City. After some time, Kathleen grew tired of the urban setting and longed for nature and her home state of Maryland. “I loved nature as a whole but wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do,” she says. “Over a couple of years I learned that plants are my passion.”
Kathleen enrolled in Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) with dreams of pursuing a four-year degree in botany. To accomplish this goal, however, she would have to juggle a full courseload while working 40 hours a week for three years with no vacations. “It was a lot of work but it was worth every minute of it,” she says. “I realize now I’m glad that I stuck it out.”
It was in the spring of 2013 that Kathleen’s hard work and dedication would pay off. She received her associate’s degree from AACC and learned that the University of Maryland had granted her a full transfer academic scholarship. “I opened the letter and dropped to my knees in my driveway,” Kathleen remembers. “It was such a weight off my shoulders to know the only thing I had to worry about was going to class without working 40 hours a week anymore.”
Now a full-time undergraduate majoring in plant science at UMD, Kathleen already has her sights set on graduate school and aspires to become a botanist who travels the world studying and documenting plants from different ecosystems. “I honestly think plants are the single most important part of any ecosystem,” says Kathleen. “It’s really important to study them because they offer so many different qualities to an environment necessary for anything to survive.”
Kathleen admits the transition to full-time Terrapin was not without challenges but says meeting other students with similar interests and passions inspired her to stay focused. She advises other students with similar experiences to her own to keep forging ahead no matter how much time has passed or how many obstacles stand in the way. “Mainly it’s not being intimidated, working as hard as you can, giving every second you can to school,” she says. “It’s worth it because I’m going to be equipped to do something that I love.”
