Rebekah combines her experience in agronomy, research, and technology to help implement programs using the CIBO Impact platform. She earned her B.S. in Biochemistry from Biola University and M.S. in Agronomy and Agroecology from the University of Minnesota.
What is your favorite thing about being in agriculture?
There are so many awesome things about agriculture. Working in agriculture is quite fulfilling as the sector touches all aspects of life— from the impact on the environment and the effect on the livelihood of farmers to the quality of food we eat.
What is one thing that would surprise people about your field of work in agriculture/data?
People are often surprised by the innovation of regenerative agriculture. The contrast of using innovative tools to capture traditional practices is often overlooked and blending software, biology, ecology, and data science with agronomics and helping farmers.
What kinds of things do you think we should be doing to encourage more people to pursue a career in science?
We need to broaden the picture of the vast impact of science to younger students. Kids often view science as “hard” and working in a lab, but really, it requires creativity and problem-solving and touches every aspect of life. It isn’t just pipetting with safety goggles on— it can lead you to field research worldwide and to coding through complex data. If younger students get a taste of that, they may be more interested in pursuing a career in science.