AREC major Charlotte Staver runs the 800-meter sprint as a member of the varsity women's track team.
Image Credit: Charlotte Staver
When junior Charlotte Staver prepares to run the 800-meter sprint as a member of the University of Maryland’s varsity women’s track team, she doesn’t limit her training to distance running, sprint intervals and weight training. Mental preparation, Staver said, is essential.
“It’s a very individual event, so it takes a lot of motivation from within, just being ready to compete and have the willingness to push yourself to your limits,” Staver said.
This motivation extends to Staver’s studies as an agricultural resource economics major and her work experiences with the USDA.
Staver grew up on a farm in Centreville, Md. Although she attended American University her freshman year to study pre-law, Staver said she realized agriculture played a bigger role in her life than she had realized. She decided to transfer to Maryland to pursue a degree in agricultural resource economics.
“I ended up studying agricultural resource economics because it seemed like the perfect connection to me between policy and sustainability,” Staver said.
“We have a growing population and not necessarily a growing agricultural production industry,” she added. “I think it’s going to be one of the major components that our country will be facing in the coming years. So I think this major gives me a way to prepare myself to deal with those issues.”
One of the major draws for Staver to the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources was the AREC professors.
“The biggest thing in AREC is that the faculty are very distinguished but also very down to earth and willing to help students,” Staver said. “Despite being a huge campus, the professors are individual and willing to help students get involved.”
Staver has taken advantage of research opportunities off-campus. Last summer Staver interned with the USDA in Beltsville and studied soil science.
Her supervisor, USDA soil scientist Jack Meisinger, said Staver was the ideal intern.
“We always break students in at the bottom of the ladder. You can tell how good a student is by how they work at a routine job,” Meisinger said. “She pays attention to details, she’s well organized. She’s an excellent employee.”
One day when Staver was checking the labels on soil samples, Meisinger said she noticed that a set of samples was misidentified and brought the error to his attention.
“If you can’t identify them, you’re in trouble,” Meisinger said.
He said her work ethic and dedication in athletics translate to the lab and beyond.
”That’s just the way she approaches things. She just commits to it and works hard and masters it,” Meisinger said. “She’s just an outstanding student and a hard worker. We’re fortunate to have her.”
Since transferring to Maryland, Staver has received the Ray A. Murray Scholarship and a Southern States Cooperative scholarship. When she isn’t preparing for her next track meet, Staver helps recruit prospective students as an AGNR Ambassador and participates in activities with her sisters from Sigma Alpha, a professional agricultural sorority.
After graduation, Staver said she plans to pursue her masters degree and PhD, eventually conducting research, going into academia or working for the government.
“I’m just hoping to work on the issues agriculture is facing right now, make an impact in the field and increase the connection between what is happening in D.C. with policy making and what’s going on for Maryland farmers,” Staver said.
