Ag Journeys
Logan Hickey
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Major: Plant Sciences (Horticulture Option)
Clubs: Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm at Penn State
Good at: Cooking, learning, being a self-proclaimed history buff, rock climbing.
Not all work and no play.
“Outside of the classroom, I'm outdoors whenever possible. I love to hike in the summer and snowboard in the winter. Since coming to Penn State, I started to rock climb at the IM building and I'm starting to get pretty good. I also love listening to music any time I can. Whether I am studying, cooking, cleaning, or playing video games, I have my headphones on. I love a little bit of everything. Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, The Roots, you name it.”
“Tradition meets high tech. That’s agriculture.”
Agriculture for everyone.
“I come from a rowdy, happy family and food is at the center of it all. As I got older, I came to realize how fortunate I was and how many people, even in my high school, were struggling with food insecurity. It inspired me to study agriculture in college so I could be part of the solution to make agriculture accessible to everyone.”
Student farmer.
“Classroom lessons spring to life on the student farm—the most impactful experience I've had at Penn State. Students do everything on this sustainable vegetable operation: plan, build, plant, and harvest. We supply campus dining and the pay-what-you-can produce stand on campus, so all Penn State students have access to healthy food options regardless of their economic situation. And it's one thing to study the biology and chemistry of plant life in the classroom, and another to watch it succeed, or fail, by your own hands.”
Growing the wine industry of the future.
“I am excited to be learning about viticulture for the first time! Wine was one of the first agricultural products ever created. Now, we are being challenged to grow grapes that can resist heat, drought, and even wet conditions due to climate change. I am exploring being a part of this quest right here at Penn State.”
The stakes are raised—fail in agriculture, people don’t eat.
Stay humble, there were a lot of great ideas before we came along.
“Many cultures, including pre-Columbian American cultures, were identifying and cultivating plants for medicinal use for centuries before Europeans arrived. In many cases, these plants contain the same active ingredients and are just as effective at curing ailments as modern pharmaceuticals. Much of the work we do in agricultural sciences compensates for lost knowledge. We need science and technology to overcome lost culture.”
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
“I often think about something I heard from Professor Kirsty Lloyd in Horticulture 101. Because each of us sees only a little piece of the picture, we need to come together to see the whole thing. That has really summed up the value of my experience here at Penn State. Between the students and faculty, there are so many hardworking, smart, curious people here. If we all work together, there is no challenge we can’t overcome.”
