June 25, 2025 • 44 mins
Unlock the secrets to making the most of the American Society for Horticultural Science Annual Conference with insider tips from seasoned attendees. As the 2025 New Orleans conference approaches (July 28-August 1), discover strategies that transform overwhelming events into career-defining opportunities.
Veteran conference-goer Curt Rom (46 conferences and counting!) and graduate student Samson Humphrey share perspectives on navigating everything from travel logistics to networking techniques. They reveal how to leverage the conference app to build a personalized schedule, position yourself for meaningful connections at poster sessions, and deliver polished presentations that showcase your research.
The conversation goes beyond academic presentations to highlight often-overlooked opportunities like resume reviews that provide one-on-one career guidance, competitions that can earn recognition and rewards, and the critical importance of informal gatherings where "the real science often happens."
Whether you are presenting research, seeking career opportunities, or simply looking to expand your professional network, this episode provides actionable strategies for every conference situation. The hosts emphasize that while the science is central, it's the relationships formed over beignets at Café Du Monde or during the annual 5K Fun Run that often prove most valuable to your career.
Download the ASHS conference app today, build your profile, and start planning your personalized conference experience. https://ashs.org/page/ASHSAnnualConference
Learn more about the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) at https://ashs.org/.
HortTechnology, HortScience and the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science are all open-access and peer-reviewed journals, published by the American Society of Horticultural Science (ASHS). Find them at journals.ashs.org.
Consider becoming an ASHS member at https://ashs.org/page/Becomeamember!
You can also find the official webpage for Plants, People, Science at ashs.org/plantspeoplesciencepodcast, and we encourage you to send us feedback or suggestions at https://ashs.org/webinarpodcastsuggestion.
Podcast transcripts are available at https://plantspeoplescience.buzzsprout.com.
On LinkedIn find Sam Humphrey at linkedin.com/in/samson-humphrey. Curt Rom is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/curt-rom-611085134/. Lena Wilson is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-wilson-2531a5141/.
Thank you for listening!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Curt Rom (00:10):
Welcome to Plants, People, Science.
A podcast of the AmericanSociety for Horticultural
Science where we talk about allthings horticulture.
Samson Humphrey (00:20):
I'm Samson Humphrey.
I'm a PhD student researcher atthe University of Tennessee and
I'm one of your co-hosts.
Hi, samson.
Curt Rom (00:28):
I'm Curt Rom, your other co-host, a university
professor of horticulture at theUniversity of Arkansas.
I'd like to welcome ouraudience today.
You know, Samson, the annualconference is coming up.
It is July 28 to August 1.
It's right around the cornerand I'm starting to really think
about getting ready for it.
Samson Humphrey (00:50):
You are I started six months ago.
Curt Rom (00:52):
Well, actually I probably did too, because I had
to submit my abstract, whichmeant I had to prepare my talk,
I had to do my registration,make my hotel preparations, made
my travel reservations, but Imean, I'm really getting ready
for it now.
Samson Humphrey (01:09):
It really is one of the big events of the
year for me too.
I have gone four times, and I'mvery proud of that.
What about you, kurt?
Curt Rom (01:18):
Well, I've been going a little longer.
I think I've been going for 45years.
This will be number 46.
But I love going to every onebecause I learn something new
every time.
I meet old friends, I make newfriends.
My professional network keepsgrowing.
It's really wonderful in thatregard.
(01:39):
So, even though I've been acouple times, every conference
has its own personality and theyseem really new.
So I'm looking forward to it.
Samson Humphrey (01:48):
Really, everyone seems so different to
you, even after all these times.
Curt Rom (01:52):
Well, you know, we have a different location every
time and since it's a scienceconference, everybody's
presenting new science.
So this is how you can kind ofmeasure science going forward.
And so they are all unique andthey all have a personality and
they all kind of have a themeand the weather's different.
You know, last year we were inHawaii, this year it's at New
(02:15):
Orleans, and so we're going toeat that great you know
Louisiana cooking and we'regoing to hear Cajun accents.
So there's a personality to theconference.
Samson Humphrey (02:25):
That's true.
I guess I think of things alittle bit differently.
I think about, like, the thingsthat I'm looking forward to,
the things I'm excited for.
I think of the like funworkshops I've been to and they
in my head they blend together alittle bit just because they're
like wonderful snippets in time, but they kind of like build
upon each other year after year.
(02:46):
Like if I join the researchinterest group a couple of years
ago I joined for the first timeand then the next year I joined
again.
It still feels like onecohesive storyline to me.
I don't know.
I really have enjoyed my timegoing.
Curt Rom (03:03):
Well, you're right in that it is a continuum of
experiences, but I still thinkeveryone's unique.
This one promises to be reallywonderful being back in New
Orleans.
It's been a long time sincewe've been there and I think
we'll enjoy it.
So, Samson, as you're gettingready, what are some of the tips
that you have learned about howto prepare and get ready to go?
Samson Humphrey (03:28):
Well, with my depth of four times joining, I
have lots of deep experience.
Maybe you'll learn something,Curt.
So I am actually I'm still kindof new to traveling.
I have had issues in the pastwith posters and bringing
posters on the planes.
In recent years there have beenmore issues with bringing
(03:50):
posters, and so we'll talk a bitabout posters in a few minutes
specifically.
But traveling is definitelysomething I start planning a
couple weeks in advance.
I have a whole list.
I need to remember my belt,like small things, medications,
my contact solution, you know,just having that full list
(04:11):
really helps me.
But you're very used totraveling, Curt, I'm sure you
already knew all that.
Curt Rom (04:17):
Well, you know, it is pretty casual, so I think people
can dress casually.
You know, if you're making apresentation whether it's post
or oral presentation you want to, of course, wear professional
attire for know if you're makinga presentation, whether it's a
poster or oral presentation, youwant to, of course, wear
professional attire for that.
If you're doing a resume reviewor if you're being interviewed
for a position, you want to makesure that you take the right
clothes for the kinds ofactivities and events.
(04:39):
But there's also all thesecasual events and other
activities.
But there's also all thesecasual events and other
activities.
So I think the most importantthing to do is, in planning to
determine even what to pack andwhat to bring, is to download
the app and start to look at theprogram and see the activities
that you want to go to, and thenyou can kind of plan what you
(05:02):
need to take so that you alreadyknow what the activities are.
You already know what you wantto do and you start putting that
together and that will help youin your packing.
Yeah, posters we're excitedabout that.
We haven't had to travel withposters since pre-pandemic.
This is the first year we'regoing to have physical posters
back, but they do always pose alittle bit of a problem.
(05:26):
It almost looks like you'retaking fly fishing gear to New
Orleans, but it's really goingto be a poster.
Samson Humphrey (05:31):
Absolutely, but it's a way to make friends too.
One of my first ASHS friends Imet on the airplane because I
saw someone else on a connectingflight with a poster and I said
, oh boy, I bet that person'sgoing to ASHS.
And they were, and we had awonderful conversation.
So there's a lot to lookforward to there.
But, Curt, you mentioned an app.
(05:52):
Could you go into detail aboutwhat that app is?
Curt Rom (05:55):
Yeah, so there is an app.
You go to the conferencewebsite.
So if you go to the AmericanSociety for Horticultural
Science webpage, ashsorg, righton the top banner you'll see a
link to conferences and then,with the conference page,
there's conference information,and so there is an app that can
(06:18):
be downloaded to your portabledevice, your handheld you know
whether it be a phone or a padkind of device and you can then
go through that and select theconference part, the parts of
the conference program that youwould like to attend.
If you don't have a handhelddevice and you're more bound to
(06:40):
a computer, you can actually gothrough the entire program on
your computer as well.
Now, an important part of boththe app and the conference
program is you can build yourown conference profile so you
can put in your name, yourcontact information, you can
download a photograph if youwould like, and that gives you a
(07:01):
way to interact and startnetworking with people that you
would like to make sure to makeconnection with at the
conference.
So you can even look at who'sgoing to speak.
If there's a talk that you wantto go to that you really want
to hear that.
That information about a cropor a discipline or a commodity
or a technique.
You can send that speaker anote through the app or the
(07:25):
conference program to connect sothey know that you want to
engage with them.
And so I really encourageeverybody to build their
conference profile.
One more thing Some people, andespecially maybe people my age,
don't want to carry around anykind of technological device.
(07:47):
You don't want to carry ahandheld or your laptop or an
iPad or whatever.
You can't print the program andwhen you register there is a
conference at a glance that willlist all of the various
sessions on about a three-pageconference at a glance.
That will list all of thevarious sessions on about a
three-page conference at aglance and so you can pick that
(08:07):
up at the conferenceregistration.
So several ways that you knowwhere to get the information.
But really, samson, remember tobuild your profile inside of
the app so that everybody canconnect.
Samson Humphrey (08:22):
Absolutely so.
These are all things thatanyone can do at the conference
to be more prepared and to bemore proactive in making those
connections.
There's also an interesting wayI really like to join the
interest groups ahead of time.
Those professional interestgroups you can find there's a
huge list on the ASHS websiteASHSorg.
like I mentioned the researchinterest group and it's about
(08:53):
research more likephilosophically and broadly than
just like a very specific.
Um, I think we've talked aboutthe ornamental research
professional interest group inthe past and so if you join
these interest groups ahead oftime through the ASHS website,
you'll get their emails aboutthings like meetings they'll
(09:13):
have and what they plan to talkabout.
So even though you have addedalready the interest group, like
meeting times, using yourschedule and using the app, you
can get more information onthings they might be planning if
you join through the ASHSwebsite ahead of time.
Curt Rom (09:33):
Yeah, that's a really good point because the interest
groups do have various workshopsas well as business meetings,
so it's a great way again tobuild your network and your
connections.
Samson Humphrey (09:49):
Yeah, and I don't know if any other interest
group does this, but theundergraduate interest group and
the graduate student interestgroup have previously used
WhatsApp text chats, and sosometimes people will help find
each other a roommate for theconference, or maybe they'll
schedule like an informal coffeemeeting and a bunch of people
will show up, and so some thingslike that can be a really great
(10:10):
way to make friends at yourfirst time at the conference.
Curt Rom (10:12):
That's a great approach, a pro tip, Samson,
Thanks for passing that on.
But yeah, there's then all ofthe behind the scenes.
You know the group me's and theWhatsApp chats.
So I think that helps connectpeople as well.
Samson Humphrey (10:27):
Absolutely Okay .
So our members have preparedfor the conference, they're
ready, they're traveling andthey arrive at the conference.
Kurt, let's start talking aboutthe tips you have for during
the conference.
Curt Rom (10:42):
Well, again, it's a general conference and also I'll
call it an open conference thateverybody is invited to every
kind of activity and event.
There are some closed ticketedevents, there are some tours,
there's some luncheon eventsthat you have to buy a ticket
for in advance, but one of thegreat things about this
(11:06):
conference and abouthorticulture is the diversity we
have.
So there are a number ofconcurrent sessions, so there
may be 10 to 15 sessions goingon at the same time, and when
you're planning your conferenceyou can go from one session to
another session.
(11:27):
This is part of the planning.
You know, know what talks youwant to go to, and so if you go
into a room and there might beduring a session, there might be
10 talks and you only want tolisten to two, just stay for
those two.
You're welcome to get up andleave quietly and politely, of
course, in between, whether thenext person is getting ready to
(11:48):
speak or during the Q&A session,and you can go to a different
session and hear another talk.
But you have to navigate all ofthese concurrent sessions.
But it's open.
You can come and go when youneed to come and go, absolutely.
Samson Humphrey (12:06):
Yeah, I love going to talks of my friends,
even if they study completelydifferent things, and so I have
used the ASHS website and youcan just search the person's
name and it shows out.
It shows all of the locationsand all the times that that
person is presenting, and so itmakes it really easy to jump in
for that one talk and then leaveafter that one talk if you're
(12:29):
really busy that day, or onething that I think you said this
, kurt, that I thought wasreally interesting If there's a
technique that you want to learnor that's really important to
you, you could use that searchfunction as well and you could
search for that technique andfind all the talks.
Regardless of what other likeparent session that talk is in,
(12:53):
you could find those talks.
And if you want to, like Kurtsaid, it's an open door
conference If you just want towalk in for that one, you can.
Curt Rom (13:01):
Yeah, you know, samson , that's correct.
So I know you're working on LEDlighting systems and artificial
lighting.
So you know you could searchthrough the program for all
talks on LED.
Some are going to be onornamental crops, some might be
on small fruits, some might beon tree fruits, some might be
for laboratory lighting, somemight be for supplemental
(13:23):
greenhouse lighting.
But if you're interested in LEDand you search for LED, you'll
find all of those talks and theymight not be directly related
to what you're working on butthey're tangentially related and
it'd be worthwhile for you tolook at those and kind of
broaden yourself with inside ofyour topic interest?
Samson Humphrey (13:45):
Oh, absolutely, and then you can also see what
other talks are before and afterthat one, and maybe they're not
related, but maybe they'rereally interesting too.
There are other things, too, toattend during the conference.
Kurt, do you want to talk aboutnetworking?
Curt Rom (14:02):
Well it is.
I think probably one of the mostimportant things about the ASHS
conferences is the buildingyour network and connecting, and
so all across the conferencecenter, there will be a coffee
table set up, stand up tables,there'll be chairs, there are
sitting areas inside of thetrade show area.
(14:24):
But the number one rule is, whenyou check in, you'll be given a
name badge, and I like to saywe're a first name society, so
your first name will likely belarger than your last name.
We don't necessarily go bytitles, but wear a name badge
all the time so that you can beidentified by other people and
(14:48):
you'll be able to read theirname tag as well, and there's no
problem with looking atpeople's name tag and
introducing yourself.
So wearing your name tag isimportant.
You do have to wear your nametag to get into some of the
sessions as well, so your nametag is the first step in
networking, but then don't beafraid to walk up and introduce
(15:09):
yourself to speakers or thosepeople that you've seen their
profile on the app, so that youwant to meet them and visit with
them.
Samson Humphrey (15:19):
Absolutely, and our name tags also can have
little flags on them.
I don't know what those arecalled, little pieces of fabric
that say like undergraduatestudent or moderator Kurt.
What are some examples of those?
Curt Rom (15:32):
Well, we have some.
We have a tag for first timers.
We have a tag for award winners.
Tag for award winners, we havea tag for board members and
various leadership capacityinside of the society.
And that reminds me ofsomething else.
Actually, for first timers ifyou're a first timer coming to
(15:54):
the conference we do have at thevery, very beginning a session
just on how to navigate theconference, how to get through
it, you know, and what are therules for the conference?
I like to say there are norules for the conference other
than to be engaged and be polite.
So I encourage first-timers tocome to the first-timer session
(16:19):
in orientation to the conference, because that will lay out the
conference schedule and go overthings that go on there.
Another thing for networking iswe have, when you register it's
at no cost there's an openingreception.
So lots of good food andbeverages and it's a great time,
(16:42):
for here we are a thousand pluspeople all in this one area.
We're wearing our name tags.
It's the very beginning.
It's a great time to connectwith old friends and to make new
friends and really to buildthat network.
So go to that first session onorientation to the conference
(17:02):
and then make sure to go to theopening reception so that you
can meet people.
Samson Humphrey (17:08):
Absolutely.
Yeah, it's so fascinatingbecause it's so many people.
It sounds really overwhelming athousand people at the
reception.
But so, especially if you're afirst timer, this advice is for
you.
It's just making friends.
It's so much fun becauseeveryone is so approachable and
(17:28):
is so excited to talk, even ifit's not about their research,
even if it's just about whatthey did today.
Everyone is very approachableand just it's a lot of fun to
make friends in this group.
So it's a wonderful time, evenif it does sound a little bit
intense, you'll have fun.
Curt Rom (17:50):
You know we have a lot of great activities for
students, both undergraduatestudents, graduate students and
early career professionals.
So there is a careerprofessional development forum.
It starts a little bit after1.30 on Monday, july 28th.
There'll be sessions there andpresentations on careers in
(18:11):
horticulture, a networking jamsession, making the right
connections, finding your rhythmin your career, and then that's
going to be followed by acareer and graduate school fair
Monday evening four o'clock tofive o'clock.
There'll be some additionalcareer development sessions on
Tuesday and continuingthroughout the entire conference
(18:33):
.
And there's even if you meetall of the requirements, there's
a professional developmentcertificate that if you go to
these activities and go to someof the keynote addresses, go to
the career fair, you'll bepresented with a certificate for
professional development.
So a lot of good opportunitiesfor first timers, for students,
(18:58):
graduate students and earlycareer professionals.
Samson Humphrey (19:01):
Oh, absolutely.
I want to take a little bit ofa pivot because a lot of the
people most of the peopleattending this conference are
usually giving some sort of talkor giving some sort of
presentation.
So, Kurt, could you talk alittle bit about the posters
that are presented at ASHS?
Curt Rom (19:18):
Sure, I love the poster session.
So there's probably going to be300 to 400 posters.
They are organized kind oftopically.
There are various sessions ofthe posters.
The posters will be upthroughout the majority of the
conference, but we do havescheduled poster sessions.
(19:40):
So, for instance, if I wasgiving a poster, the poster will
be hanging all week long andyou'll have my contact
information there.
But there will be a two-hourperiod where I will stand in
front of my poster and so thosepeople that are interested can
come visit with me about that.
So again, this is part ofplanning on your app finding out
(20:03):
, looking at the posters thatyou're interested in, finding
out when that poster session is,so that you can go visit with
the author of that poster.
But you can walk through theposters at any time.
Now one of my tricks is Iidentify the posters that I am
(20:23):
kind of interested in so that Irank them.
It's kind of a first order view.
I walk through and I look atthe posters and then I identify
the posters where I really wantto talk to the author and I put
that into my program schedule sothat I get my notification.
This poster is being discussedtoday at one to three o'clock on
(20:44):
Tuesday.
I know I can go there and meetwith the author, but I spend a
lot of time in the posters.
With 400 posters, uh, I gain awhole lot of information.
You know, they're digestible,they're visual.
Uh, the poster session's a lotof fun and there's always so
(21:05):
much conversation in the postersessions Absolutely.
Samson Humphrey (21:09):
And it's fun for you.
You're talking about going andseeing everyone's posters.
I'm thinking from thepresenter's perspective.
I think it's a lot of fun topresent a poster too, because
you get all these like trulywise scientists who have been in
your field for potentiallydecades and they really care,
(21:31):
they really want to know aboutthe work that you did.
So I've had some reallywonderful conversations not just
questions, but conversationsabout the work that just can't
happen anywhere else.
So I love giving these postertalks as well.
So when you're preparing to giveyour poster presentation, I
(21:52):
recommend you have a backup inplace, backup in place, a backup
, just in case you can't takethe poster or print the poster
in time for the conference.
It just for peace of mind.
It helps to know that there's alocal place that you can have
your poster printed Some sort ofstaples or something that is
(22:13):
close enough to the conferencevenue that you know that you
could get to it if everythingelse failed to the conference
venue, that you know that youcould get to it if everything
else failed.
You could also print yourposter on fabric ahead of time,
before the conference.
Fabric folds up and can unfoldmuch more easily than paper, and
so it's slightly more expensiveto print, but that's another
option for you if you'representing a poster and looking
(22:36):
forward to that.
Curt Rom (22:38):
Yeah, some other things I do for poster
presentations.
I actually I've got my posterup on the poster board but I
print five by 11 copies of myposter and I might print 25 or
50 of them and I put them in afolder down below my poster so
that people that come see myposter, if they want to take a
(22:59):
copy of it with them, they cantake it.
Granted, it can be a littlesmall, but I'm aware of the
typeface to make it large enoughthat they can see it, but it
gives them a reminder.
It also gives them my contactinformation.
So if they want to follow upbut that's something I typically
do is to print 25 or 50 copiesof my poster on eight and a half
(23:22):
by 11.
And I attach it in by with thefolder down below my poster and
that way if I'm not standingthere and somebody wants it,
they can pick it up.
I also will put copies of mybusiness cards there as well.
That is awesome.
Samson Humphrey (23:40):
If I had a printout of one of your posters
from 45 years ago, I would haveit framed on the wall today.
That would be so cool, Kurt.
Curt Rom (23:50):
Well, I'm not sure I did it.
45 years ago I probably.
I am sure I learned that fromsomebody else.
By seeing what they were doing.
I thought, oh, that's a greatidea.
And I got home and I'd hadmaybe 10 people's copies like
that myself.
So I've started doing that.
Samson Humphrey (24:08):
Absolutely.
Yeah, there's so much you learnover the years attending these
conferences.
All right, so, in addition toposters, people give oral
presentations.
What are your thoughts on that?
Curt Rom (24:20):
Well, the oral presentations last 15 minutes
and hypothetically, thepresenter should prepare
somewhere between 11 and 12minutes of oral presentation.
So realistically that's goingto be somewhere around 15 slides
and then leave two to threeminutes or four minutes at the
(24:41):
end for questions and answer,and so I think it's real
important that you practice thatNow.
You will receive those are thepeople that are presenting oral
sessions will receive an emailthat they should download their
oral presentation prior toarrival.
Not everybody gets that done intime and in fact there's been
(25:06):
times I didn't get mine done intime to submit it before I was
traveling, so I had to bring itwith me.
I would always recommendbringing a backup copy, and it
should be a backup copy on a USBthumb drive, because it's
downloaded to the central systemand then from the central
(25:30):
system it's sent electronicallyto the presentation room, and so
that's the advantage of sendingin advance.
You can walk in and you hityour talk and it pops up, but
there can be problems sometimes.
So I think it's always good tohave a backup of a USB drive.
(25:50):
Bring that with you.
If you didn't get it submittedin advance, you can go to the
speaker ready room and downloadyour talk.
The speaker ready room is alsothere.
So if you want to preview yourtalk before you give it, you can
go and call your talk up, lookat it, make sure that it all
(26:11):
looks right, that it translatedright when you sent it and
submitted it.
Samson Humphrey (26:16):
Yeah, yeah, great points, kurt.
I really appreciate thatmention about the USB drive.
I don't know if you know thisabout me, kurt, even though
we've been friends for quite awhile now.
I have great pride in being theUSB friend out of my group.
I'm the one who carries the USBdrive and I have like six
(26:39):
people who all put their talksonto it and I'm like the one
that they go to, and so I don'tknow, maybe that's another way
you could make friends at theconferences to be that reliable
person, just by having onelittle USB $10.
It's nothing.
Curt Rom (26:54):
That's great.
You know the other thing nowthat you think, now that you
mentioned that you know, whenyou hear a really good talk that
you really like, you might wantto go to that author and say
are you willing to share yourtalk with me?
And so if you have your laptopor your iPad and a USB drive,
(27:16):
you might be able to receive acopy, but you need to ask
permission to do that.
Another kind of pro tip is thatI practice.
So I mean, I've been going along time and I've taught a lot
of classes, but I always get alittle nervous before I talk and
so I always go to the roomwhere I'm going to give my
(27:37):
presentation the night before orsometime before, so I can get a
feel for the room, I know wherethe podium is going to be, I
know where the screen is goingto be, I know what the clicker
looks like, I know where thelaser pointer is and I can get
situated and I can getcomfortable.
So I really encourage peoplethat are giving oral
(27:59):
presentations get comfortablewith the space.
Do that a day or two beforeJust walk in there so you know
what it's like at the front ofthat room and it's a lot easier
when there's nobody sitting inthe chairs, so you can get
comfortable with that part of itwhere you're going to be and
how you're going to give yourtalk.
(28:19):
And then, when people come inand fill it up to listen to what
you've got to say, you alreadyknow where you are, how things
are going to operate, how theequipment works.
So prepare for that beforehand.
Samson Humphrey (28:34):
Absolutely, absolutely.
You could also go.
I like to do this.
Going ahead of time like 15minutes or 20 minutes is what I
target before the talks arescheduled to begin, because then
you can make sure your file ison their computer like it's
supposed to be.
But also you get to sit thereas people come in and you get to
(28:56):
say good morning and, like,start conversations, because
they're excited to be there too,and it'll be some other
presenters, and so that'sanother way to make friends.
At the conferences you, you getto actually make conversation
with the people that'll bewatching you and and and trying
to learn about your research.
Curt Rom (29:13):
Yeah, it's good, and every session has a moderator.
So it's if you're a speaker,it's important or it's good for
you to go meet your moderator,introduce them because they're
going to introduce you and findout how are they going to keep
time.
Are they going to stand up whenyou're at 11 or 12 minutes?
Are they going to hold up asign?
(29:33):
Are they going to hold up afinger, or are they just going
to stand up at 14 minutes andsay thank you very much for your
talk?
We're ready for the next one.
So it's always good to go meetyour moderator, find out how
they're going to moderate thesession and, if you're a speaker
, be mindful of your time,because the schedule's very
tight and the people arespeaking after you.
(29:56):
They want to give their talktoo and you want to hear their
talk, so you want to make surethat you finish up in a timely
manner, turn your presentationback over to the moderator so
they can moderate the questionand answer and then move on to
the next speaker.
Samson Humphrey (30:12):
Absolutely Okay .
So imagine you've come ahead oftime, your file is good, you've
presented your talk, you'vedone it in a timely manner and
now you have like two or threeor maybe four minutes of
question and answer Kurt, whocan ask questions?
Curt Rom (30:31):
That's a great question.
So the answer to the questionis anybody can ask questions.
So, again, this is wherethere's no rule.
So it doesn't matter if you'rean undergraduate student or if
you've been going to thesemeetings for 45 years.
If you have a relevant questionto ask about the presentation
that was just made, raise yourhand to be called on and you can
(30:55):
ask that question.
Called on and you can ask thatquestion.
So there's no rule that sayssome people can ask questions
and some people should not askquestions.
If you have a relevant questionto ask, it should be asked
because more than likely,somebody else is thinking it and
they may not have the courageto ask.
(31:16):
So ask it, so everybody canknow.
Samson Humphrey (31:25):
Absolutely Fantastic advice, kurt.
Thank you.
I do love the question andanswer section.
I feel like that's a lot ofpeople a lot of my peers at
least seem to see it as like themost stressful part because
they don't know what will happen.
But it always ends up being abit fun.
A lot of this conference stuffends up being a bit fun.
There are many, many otherevents pivoting away from oral
presentations.
There are many other events youcan attend as well.
(31:48):
One example I want to give thatyou may not give a second
thought to, because there's somuch else going on at the
conference, is resume reviews.
Now again, there's a lot goingon at the conference, but resume
reviews only take I think it's15 or 30 minutes, and they
(32:08):
repeatedly, for me, have beenone of my favorite parts of the
ASHS conference, because whatyou do is you can have your
resume on your laptop, if you'dlike digitally, or you can print
out.
If you're prepared more preparedthan I am you can print out a
copy of your resume and youbring it to the resume review
(32:31):
area and they'll have multiplescientists there who are
reviewing other resumes and sothey'll pair you with the
scientist and you get to sitdown with that person one-on-one
at a little table and they lookit over and they ask you
questions like are youinterested in industry, are you
interested in government?
What would someone be lookingfor on your resume?
(32:53):
And then they take that verywise, informed perspective and
they give you very directfeedback on the things you can
improve on.
Now, for me, I've hadphenomenal tips on little things
I could do to improve my resume, but I've also had maybe more
(33:14):
impactful were the conversationsI had on like the things that I
should value and consider doingin the future that would help
me toward my career goals.
And so they're.
Not only are there like littlechange that font sort of small
advice pieces given, but alsomuch deeper, much more
(33:35):
philosophical and long termadvice as well.
So that's one of the otherevents I love.
Kurt, what other events do youlove at ASHS?
Curt Rom (33:43):
Well related to the resume review.
There is a career center, so alot of departments and programs
and agencies and organizationsand institutions.
When you're looking forhorticulturists to fill
positions, whether they beentry-level positions or faculty
(34:05):
kinds of positions, what betterplace than to go to a
horticultural conference?
So there's a career centerthere and so if you're looking
for a position you can drop yourresume off.
If you want to look at what'savailable, there are usually
anywhere from 20 to 50 kind ofopen positions and you can
schedule an opportunity for alittle bit of a pre-interview
(34:28):
with another conferency thatmight be representing that that
position.
You know, for instance, I knowwe're going to be looking, my
university is going to belooking for some positions.
We look for graduate positions,postdoc positions, research,
technician positions.
So we always have a coupleannouncements there and this is
kind of our first screening.
(34:48):
This is a little bit of thedating.
So the career ceremony, I meanthe career center, is one of
those places that I really liketo go to.
There's also a whole bunch ofcompetitions.
I mean, we're scientists butmaybe we're a little competitive
.
For instance, there's an earlycareer competition for
(35:11):
professionals that have been inthe first five to seven years of
their career.
There are the three-minutethesis competition that we call
the Scholars Ignite three-minutepresentations.
That's always lots of fun.
That's kind of a lightninground of talks about exciting
things people are doing.
(35:31):
There's undergraduate posterand oral competition.
There's a graduate studentposter competition.
There's a trivia night forstudents that's lots of fun.
There's a controlledenvironment oral competition for
graduate students, afloriculture oral competition
(35:51):
for graduate students, plantgrowth regulator oral
competition for graduatestudents, ornamental plant
breeding oral competition solots of fun ways to engage.
And competitions means awardsand it usually means money and
so great way to showcase whatyou're doing in your work, to
(36:17):
show that you are competitiveand maybe to receive an
acknowledgement, award andreward for the work that you're
doing.
And then there are just somereally fun things.
So this year we broughtsomething back that I always
enjoy.
For those of us that like tomove, we're going to have a 5K
(36:37):
fun run and walk and this isopen to everybody.
It is a competition.
There are prizes given in agecategories and gender categories
, but really it's about justhaving fun.
So a number of times I have runthose and sometimes, you know,
(37:00):
especially if I'm the youngestin my age category I've done a
little bit better than when I'mthe oldest in my age category,
but it's just the fun of it.
We get a T-shirt that's alwaysfun to wear.
This year, just because Ihaven't decided yet, my running
is not up to where it should be.
I might just be walking it thisyear.
(37:21):
Just because I haven't decidedyet, my running is not up to
where it should be.
I might just be walking it thisyear, but it's really fun.
It's the 5k fun, run, walk kindof activity.
Just lots of other thingsbesides science presentations.
Great ways again to makefriends, build your network and
(37:42):
to engage as a professionalhorticulturist.
Samson Humphrey (37:45):
Absolutely.
But, kurt, I don't believe youfor one second.
I'm going to be at that finishline and you're going to be the
first one over.
I can see it right now.
Curt Rom (37:54):
Well, I do have, unfortunately, a little bit of a
competitive streak in me, but Ialso recognize that at my age
I'm not running at the speedthat I did 30 years ago.
Samson Humphrey (38:09):
Yeah, too much of your blood flow is working on
your brain.
It's too much brain power, Ithink, is what's going on All
right.
So one other thing I wanted tomention before we wrap up at the
tail of our little other eventsdiscussion is events that
aren't aren't official.
(38:30):
I really love that most of themeals are not actually there
aren't.
Usually.
There aren't always events goingon during mealtimes during
breakfast, lunch and dinner andso that makes it really easy for
me to ask other scientists andask my friends that I might only
see once a year to havebreakfast with me and to just
(38:52):
chat and catch up.
Or maybe you'll be invited toanother lab's annual catch-up
event I know I've been invitedto some that I felt very honored
to be invited to of other labsin my field that are just open
to talking with students thatare not part of their labs, and
(39:13):
getting that differentperspective is really wonderful,
as well as catching up withfriends.
So I would advise you to alsoconsider being proactive and
talking with people and askingthem to have a meal with you or
asking them to meet up aftercertain talks.
There's so much to look forwardto at these conferences, any
last thoughts, kurt.
Curt Rom (39:34):
Well, I agree with that.
You know, I think, findingpeople to go to Cafe Du Monde
and have beignets for breakfastyou need to find somebody to do
that.
You need to find some friendsto go eat some crawfish with and
you know New Orleans has thisarea of Bourbon Street.
(39:54):
You ought to find some friendsand just go out and experience
the culture of New Orleans withsome friends.
We're focused on the scienceand the aspects of the science,
but really one of the highlightsis being with your buddies and
(40:15):
going out and having that commonexperience enjoying a good meal
, enjoying an evening out.
That's maybe where the realscience occurs.
The presentations and theposters are where we just talk
about it, but where we reallyget down to the nitty gritty and
(40:35):
think about it, where the realidea is an inspiration.
They're probably going to comesitting around a table somewhere
.
Samson Humphrey (40:44):
With like-minded peers from different
universities and all sorts ofdifferent people getting
together to talk about theirthoughts Wonderful way, I agree
with that.
Curt Rom (40:54):
It's going to be a great conference.
I mean, it's just jam-packedwith things.
Again, prepare in advancethat's a big part of it.
Look at the program.
There's so much going on.
You need to develop yourschedule and your schedule will
show up in your calendar andyou'll get your notifications
that it's time to go and bewhere you need to be and then
(41:18):
just come ready to have a greattime.
Samson Humphrey (41:22):
I'm pumped, Kurt.
That's what I'm going to go doright now.
So where can our listeners goto learn more?
Curt Rom (41:29):
Again.
Go to the American Society forHorticulture Science website,
ashsorg.
Right on the top banner, you'llsee a link that says Conference
and you click on thatConference and it'll take you to
a smaller green box menu thathas a whole bunch of information
, including frequently askedquestions, all of the various
(41:54):
activities and the informationabout downloading the app, as
well as the entire conferenceschedule, as you'll be able to
see.
So that's where to start out,ashsorg.
Samson Humphrey (42:08):
Amazing.
Thank you so much for thisconversation, Kurt.
This was a delight.
Curt Rom (42:12):
Oh, it was so much fun and I'm excited about the
conference.
I know I need to practice mytalk a little bit more, but I've
got a couple of weeks to getthat done and I haven't gone
through everything I want to doyet.
But I'm looking forward toseeing my friends there, my
colleagues there.
Samson, I'm looking forward toseeing you there.
Samson Humphrey (42:34):
I can't wait.
Thank you for listeningeveryone.
I can't wait, Thank you forlistening everyone.
Curt Rom (42:43):
The ASHS podcast Plants, people and Science is
made possible by member dues andvolunteerism.
Please go to ashsorg to learnmore.
If you're not already a memberof the ASHS, we invite you to
join.
Ashs is a not-for-profit andyour donations are tax
(43:06):
deductible.
Samson Humphrey (43:08):
This episode was hosted by Samson Humphrey
and Kurt Rome.
Special thanks to our audioengineer, andrew Sheldorf, our
research specialists Lena Wilsonand Andrew Sheldorf, our ASHS
support team, sarah Powell andSally Murphy, and our musician
John Clark.
Thanks for listening.
Thank you.
Welcome to Plants, People, Science.
A podcast of the AmericanSociety for Horticultural
Science where we talk about allthings horticulture.
Samson Humphrey (00:20):
I'm Samson Humphrey.
I'm a PhD student researcher atthe University of Tennessee and
I'm one of your co-hosts.
Hi, samson.
Curt Rom (00:28):
I'm Curt Rom, your other co-host, a university
professor of horticulture at theUniversity of Arkansas.
I'd like to welcome ouraudience today.
You know, Samson, the annualconference is coming up.
It is July 28 to August 1.
It's right around the cornerand I'm starting to really think
about getting ready for it.
Samson Humphrey (00:50):
You are I started six months ago.
Curt Rom (00:52):
Well, actually I probably did too, because I had
to submit my abstract, whichmeant I had to prepare my talk,
I had to do my registration,make my hotel preparations, made
my travel reservations, but Imean, I'm really getting ready
for it now.
Samson Humphrey (01:09):
It really is one of the big events of the
year for me too.
I have gone four times, and I'mvery proud of that.
What about you, kurt?
Curt Rom (01:18):
Well, I've been going a little longer.
I think I've been going for 45years.
This will be number 46.
But I love going to every onebecause I learn something new
every time.
I meet old friends, I make newfriends.
My professional network keepsgrowing.
It's really wonderful in thatregard.
(01:39):
So, even though I've been acouple times, every conference
has its own personality and theyseem really new.
So I'm looking forward to it.
Samson Humphrey (01:48):
Really, everyone seems so different to
you, even after all these times.
Curt Rom (01:52):
Well, you know, we have a different location every
time and since it's a scienceconference, everybody's
presenting new science.
So this is how you can kind ofmeasure science going forward.
And so they are all unique andthey all have a personality and
they all kind of have a themeand the weather's different.
You know, last year we were inHawaii, this year it's at New
(02:15):
Orleans, and so we're going toeat that great you know
Louisiana cooking and we'regoing to hear Cajun accents.
So there's a personality to theconference.
Samson Humphrey (02:25):
That's true.
I guess I think of things alittle bit differently.
I think about, like, the thingsthat I'm looking forward to,
the things I'm excited for.
I think of the like funworkshops I've been to and they
in my head they blend together alittle bit just because they're
like wonderful snippets in time, but they kind of like build
upon each other year after year.
(02:46):
Like if I join the researchinterest group a couple of years
ago I joined for the first timeand then the next year I joined
again.
It still feels like onecohesive storyline to me.
I don't know.
I really have enjoyed my timegoing.
Curt Rom (03:03):
Well, you're right in that it is a continuum of
experiences, but I still thinkeveryone's unique.
This one promises to be reallywonderful being back in New
Orleans.
It's been a long time sincewe've been there and I think
we'll enjoy it.
So, Samson, as you're gettingready, what are some of the tips
that you have learned about howto prepare and get ready to go?
Samson Humphrey (03:28):
Well, with my depth of four times joining, I
have lots of deep experience.
Maybe you'll learn something,Curt.
So I am actually I'm still kindof new to traveling.
I have had issues in the pastwith posters and bringing
posters on the planes.
In recent years there have beenmore issues with bringing
(03:50):
posters, and so we'll talk a bitabout posters in a few minutes
specifically.
But traveling is definitelysomething I start planning a
couple weeks in advance.
I have a whole list.
I need to remember my belt,like small things, medications,
my contact solution, you know,just having that full list
(04:11):
really helps me.
But you're very used totraveling, Curt, I'm sure you
already knew all that.
Curt Rom (04:17):
Well, you know, it is pretty casual, so I think people
can dress casually.
You know, if you're making apresentation whether it's post
or oral presentation you want to, of course, wear professional
attire for know if you're makinga presentation, whether it's a
poster or oral presentation, youwant to, of course, wear
professional attire for that.
If you're doing a resume reviewor if you're being interviewed
for a position, you want to makesure that you take the right
clothes for the kinds ofactivities and events.
(04:39):
But there's also all thesecasual events and other
activities.
But there's also all thesecasual events and other
activities.
So I think the most importantthing to do is, in planning to
determine even what to pack andwhat to bring, is to download
the app and start to look at theprogram and see the activities
that you want to go to, and thenyou can kind of plan what you
(05:02):
need to take so that you alreadyknow what the activities are.
You already know what you wantto do and you start putting that
together and that will help youin your packing.
Yeah, posters we're excitedabout that.
We haven't had to travel withposters since pre-pandemic.
This is the first year we'regoing to have physical posters
back, but they do always pose alittle bit of a problem.
(05:26):
It almost looks like you'retaking fly fishing gear to New
Orleans, but it's really goingto be a poster.
Samson Humphrey (05:31):
Absolutely, but it's a way to make friends too.
One of my first ASHS friends Imet on the airplane because I
saw someone else on a connectingflight with a poster and I said
, oh boy, I bet that person'sgoing to ASHS.
And they were, and we had awonderful conversation.
So there's a lot to lookforward to there.
But, Curt, you mentioned an app.
(05:52):
Could you go into detail aboutwhat that app is?
Curt Rom (05:55):
Yeah, so there is an app.
You go to the conferencewebsite.
So if you go to the AmericanSociety for Horticultural
Science webpage, ashsorg, righton the top banner you'll see a
link to conferences and then,with the conference page,
there's conference information,and so there is an app that can
(06:18):
be downloaded to your portabledevice, your handheld you know
whether it be a phone or a padkind of device and you can then
go through that and select theconference part, the parts of
the conference program that youwould like to attend.
If you don't have a handhelddevice and you're more bound to
(06:40):
a computer, you can actually gothrough the entire program on
your computer as well.
Now, an important part of boththe app and the conference
program is you can build yourown conference profile so you
can put in your name, yourcontact information, you can
download a photograph if youwould like, and that gives you a
(07:01):
way to interact and startnetworking with people that you
would like to make sure to makeconnection with at the
conference.
So you can even look at who'sgoing to speak.
If there's a talk that you wantto go to that you really want
to hear that.
That information about a cropor a discipline or a commodity
or a technique.
You can send that speaker anote through the app or the
(07:25):
conference program to connect sothey know that you want to
engage with them.
And so I really encourageeverybody to build their
conference profile.
One more thing Some people, andespecially maybe people my age,
don't want to carry around anykind of technological device.
(07:47):
You don't want to carry ahandheld or your laptop or an
iPad or whatever.
You can't print the program andwhen you register there is a
conference at a glance that willlist all of the various
sessions on about a three-pageconference at a glance.
That will list all of thevarious sessions on about a
three-page conference at aglance and so you can pick that
(08:07):
up at the conferenceregistration.
So several ways that you knowwhere to get the information.
But really, samson, remember tobuild your profile inside of
the app so that everybody canconnect.
Samson Humphrey (08:22):
Absolutely so.
These are all things thatanyone can do at the conference
to be more prepared and to bemore proactive in making those
connections.
There's also an interesting wayI really like to join the
interest groups ahead of time.
Those professional interestgroups you can find there's a
huge list on the ASHS websiteASHSorg.
like I mentioned the researchinterest group and it's about
(08:53):
research more likephilosophically and broadly than
just like a very specific.
Um, I think we've talked aboutthe ornamental research
professional interest group inthe past and so if you join
these interest groups ahead oftime through the ASHS website,
you'll get their emails aboutthings like meetings they'll
(09:13):
have and what they plan to talkabout.
So even though you have addedalready the interest group, like
meeting times, using yourschedule and using the app, you
can get more information onthings they might be planning if
you join through the ASHSwebsite ahead of time.
Curt Rom (09:33):
Yeah, that's a really good point because the interest
groups do have various workshopsas well as business meetings,
so it's a great way again tobuild your network and your
connections.
Samson Humphrey (09:49):
Yeah, and I don't know if any other interest
group does this, but theundergraduate interest group and
the graduate student interestgroup have previously used
WhatsApp text chats, and sosometimes people will help find
each other a roommate for theconference, or maybe they'll
schedule like an informal coffeemeeting and a bunch of people
will show up, and so some thingslike that can be a really great
(10:10):
way to make friends at yourfirst time at the conference.
Curt Rom (10:12):
That's a great approach, a pro tip, Samson,
Thanks for passing that on.
But yeah, there's then all ofthe behind the scenes.
You know the group me's and theWhatsApp chats.
So I think that helps connectpeople as well.
Samson Humphrey (10:27):
Absolutely Okay .
So our members have preparedfor the conference, they're
ready, they're traveling andthey arrive at the conference.
Kurt, let's start talking aboutthe tips you have for during
the conference.
Curt Rom (10:42):
Well, again, it's a general conference and also I'll
call it an open conference thateverybody is invited to every
kind of activity and event.
There are some closed ticketedevents, there are some tours,
there's some luncheon eventsthat you have to buy a ticket
for in advance, but one of thegreat things about this
(11:06):
conference and abouthorticulture is the diversity we
have.
So there are a number ofconcurrent sessions, so there
may be 10 to 15 sessions goingon at the same time, and when
you're planning your conferenceyou can go from one session to
another session.
(11:27):
This is part of the planning.
You know, know what talks youwant to go to, and so if you go
into a room and there might beduring a session, there might be
10 talks and you only want tolisten to two, just stay for
those two.
You're welcome to get up andleave quietly and politely, of
course, in between, whether thenext person is getting ready to
(11:48):
speak or during the Q&A session,and you can go to a different
session and hear another talk.
But you have to navigate all ofthese concurrent sessions.
But it's open.
You can come and go when youneed to come and go, absolutely.
Samson Humphrey (12:06):
Yeah, I love going to talks of my friends,
even if they study completelydifferent things, and so I have
used the ASHS website and youcan just search the person's
name and it shows out.
It shows all of the locationsand all the times that that
person is presenting, and so itmakes it really easy to jump in
for that one talk and then leaveafter that one talk if you're
(12:29):
really busy that day, or onething that I think you said this
, kurt, that I thought wasreally interesting If there's a
technique that you want to learnor that's really important to
you, you could use that searchfunction as well and you could
search for that technique andfind all the talks.
Regardless of what other likeparent session that talk is in,
(12:53):
you could find those talks.
And if you want to, like Kurtsaid, it's an open door
conference If you just want towalk in for that one, you can.
Curt Rom (13:01):
Yeah, you know, samson , that's correct.
So I know you're working on LEDlighting systems and artificial
lighting.
So you know you could searchthrough the program for all
talks on LED.
Some are going to be onornamental crops, some might be
on small fruits, some might beon tree fruits, some might be
for laboratory lighting, somemight be for supplemental
(13:23):
greenhouse lighting.
But if you're interested in LEDand you search for LED, you'll
find all of those talks and theymight not be directly related
to what you're working on butthey're tangentially related and
it'd be worthwhile for you tolook at those and kind of
broaden yourself with inside ofyour topic interest?
Samson Humphrey (13:45):
Oh, absolutely, and then you can also see what
other talks are before and afterthat one, and maybe they're not
related, but maybe they'rereally interesting too.
There are other things, too, toattend during the conference.
Kurt, do you want to talk aboutnetworking?
Curt Rom (14:02):
Well it is.
I think probably one of the mostimportant things about the ASHS
conferences is the buildingyour network and connecting, and
so all across the conferencecenter, there will be a coffee
table set up, stand up tables,there'll be chairs, there are
sitting areas inside of thetrade show area.
(14:24):
But the number one rule is, whenyou check in, you'll be given a
name badge, and I like to saywe're a first name society, so
your first name will likely belarger than your last name.
We don't necessarily go bytitles, but wear a name badge
all the time so that you can beidentified by other people and
(14:48):
you'll be able to read theirname tag as well, and there's no
problem with looking atpeople's name tag and
introducing yourself.
So wearing your name tag isimportant.
You do have to wear your nametag to get into some of the
sessions as well, so your nametag is the first step in
networking, but then don't beafraid to walk up and introduce
(15:09):
yourself to speakers or thosepeople that you've seen their
profile on the app, so that youwant to meet them and visit with
them.
Samson Humphrey (15:19):
Absolutely, and our name tags also can have
little flags on them.
I don't know what those arecalled, little pieces of fabric
that say like undergraduatestudent or moderator Kurt.
What are some examples of those?
Curt Rom (15:32):
Well, we have some.
We have a tag for first timers.
We have a tag for award winners.
Tag for award winners, we havea tag for board members and
various leadership capacityinside of the society.
And that reminds me ofsomething else.
Actually, for first timers ifyou're a first timer coming to
(15:54):
the conference we do have at thevery, very beginning a session
just on how to navigate theconference, how to get through
it, you know, and what are therules for the conference?
I like to say there are norules for the conference other
than to be engaged and be polite.
So I encourage first-timers tocome to the first-timer session
(16:19):
in orientation to the conference, because that will lay out the
conference schedule and go overthings that go on there.
Another thing for networking iswe have, when you register it's
at no cost there's an openingreception.
So lots of good food andbeverages and it's a great time,
(16:42):
for here we are a thousand pluspeople all in this one area.
We're wearing our name tags.
It's the very beginning.
It's a great time to connectwith old friends and to make new
friends and really to buildthat network.
So go to that first session onorientation to the conference
(17:02):
and then make sure to go to theopening reception so that you
can meet people.
Samson Humphrey (17:08):
Absolutely.
Yeah, it's so fascinatingbecause it's so many people.
It sounds really overwhelming athousand people at the
reception.
But so, especially if you're afirst timer, this advice is for
you.
It's just making friends.
It's so much fun becauseeveryone is so approachable and
(17:28):
is so excited to talk, even ifit's not about their research,
even if it's just about whatthey did today.
Everyone is very approachableand just it's a lot of fun to
make friends in this group.
So it's a wonderful time, evenif it does sound a little bit
intense, you'll have fun.
Curt Rom (17:50):
You know we have a lot of great activities for
students, both undergraduatestudents, graduate students and
early career professionals.
So there is a careerprofessional development forum.
It starts a little bit after1.30 on Monday, july 28th.
There'll be sessions there andpresentations on careers in
(18:11):
horticulture, a networking jamsession, making the right
connections, finding your rhythmin your career, and then that's
going to be followed by acareer and graduate school fair
Monday evening four o'clock tofive o'clock.
There'll be some additionalcareer development sessions on
Tuesday and continuingthroughout the entire conference
(18:33):
.
And there's even if you meetall of the requirements, there's
a professional developmentcertificate that if you go to
these activities and go to someof the keynote addresses, go to
the career fair, you'll bepresented with a certificate for
professional development.
So a lot of good opportunitiesfor first timers, for students,
(18:58):
graduate students and earlycareer professionals.
Samson Humphrey (19:01):
Oh, absolutely.
I want to take a little bit ofa pivot because a lot of the
people most of the peopleattending this conference are
usually giving some sort of talkor giving some sort of
presentation.
So, Kurt, could you talk alittle bit about the posters
that are presented at ASHS?
Curt Rom (19:18):
Sure, I love the poster session.
So there's probably going to be300 to 400 posters.
They are organized kind oftopically.
There are various sessions ofthe posters.
The posters will be upthroughout the majority of the
conference, but we do havescheduled poster sessions.
(19:40):
So, for instance, if I wasgiving a poster, the poster will
be hanging all week long andyou'll have my contact
information there.
But there will be a two-hourperiod where I will stand in
front of my poster and so thosepeople that are interested can
come visit with me about that.
So again, this is part ofplanning on your app finding out
(20:03):
, looking at the posters thatyou're interested in, finding
out when that poster session is,so that you can go visit with
the author of that poster.
But you can walk through theposters at any time.
Now one of my tricks is Iidentify the posters that I am
(20:23):
kind of interested in so that Irank them.
It's kind of a first order view.
I walk through and I look atthe posters and then I identify
the posters where I really wantto talk to the author and I put
that into my program schedule sothat I get my notification.
This poster is being discussedtoday at one to three o'clock on
(20:44):
Tuesday.
I know I can go there and meetwith the author, but I spend a
lot of time in the posters.
With 400 posters, uh, I gain awhole lot of information.
You know, they're digestible,they're visual.
Uh, the poster session's a lotof fun and there's always so
(21:05):
much conversation in the postersessions Absolutely.
Samson Humphrey (21:09):
And it's fun for you.
You're talking about going andseeing everyone's posters.
I'm thinking from thepresenter's perspective.
I think it's a lot of fun topresent a poster too, because
you get all these like trulywise scientists who have been in
your field for potentiallydecades and they really care,
(21:31):
they really want to know aboutthe work that you did.
So I've had some reallywonderful conversations not just
questions, but conversationsabout the work that just can't
happen anywhere else.
So I love giving these postertalks as well.
So when you're preparing to giveyour poster presentation, I
(21:52):
recommend you have a backup inplace, backup in place, a backup
, just in case you can't takethe poster or print the poster
in time for the conference.
It just for peace of mind.
It helps to know that there's alocal place that you can have
your poster printed Some sort ofstaples or something that is
(22:13):
close enough to the conferencevenue that you know that you
could get to it if everythingelse failed to the conference
venue, that you know that youcould get to it if everything
else failed.
You could also print yourposter on fabric ahead of time,
before the conference.
Fabric folds up and can unfoldmuch more easily than paper, and
so it's slightly more expensiveto print, but that's another
option for you if you'representing a poster and looking
(22:36):
forward to that.
Curt Rom (22:38):
Yeah, some other things I do for poster
presentations.
I actually I've got my posterup on the poster board but I
print five by 11 copies of myposter and I might print 25 or
50 of them and I put them in afolder down below my poster so
that people that come see myposter, if they want to take a
(22:59):
copy of it with them, they cantake it.
Granted, it can be a littlesmall, but I'm aware of the
typeface to make it large enoughthat they can see it, but it
gives them a reminder.
It also gives them my contactinformation.
So if they want to follow upbut that's something I typically
do is to print 25 or 50 copiesof my poster on eight and a half
(23:22):
by 11.
And I attach it in by with thefolder down below my poster and
that way if I'm not standingthere and somebody wants it,
they can pick it up.
I also will put copies of mybusiness cards there as well.
That is awesome.
Samson Humphrey (23:40):
If I had a printout of one of your posters
from 45 years ago, I would haveit framed on the wall today.
That would be so cool, Kurt.
Curt Rom (23:50):
Well, I'm not sure I did it.
45 years ago I probably.
I am sure I learned that fromsomebody else.
By seeing what they were doing.
I thought, oh, that's a greatidea.
And I got home and I'd hadmaybe 10 people's copies like
that myself.
So I've started doing that.
Samson Humphrey (24:08):
Absolutely.
Yeah, there's so much you learnover the years attending these
conferences.
All right, so, in addition toposters, people give oral
presentations.
What are your thoughts on that?
Curt Rom (24:20):
Well, the oral presentations last 15 minutes
and hypothetically, thepresenter should prepare
somewhere between 11 and 12minutes of oral presentation.
So realistically that's goingto be somewhere around 15 slides
and then leave two to threeminutes or four minutes at the
(24:41):
end for questions and answer,and so I think it's real
important that you practice thatNow.
You will receive those are thepeople that are presenting oral
sessions will receive an emailthat they should download their
oral presentation prior toarrival.
Not everybody gets that done intime and in fact there's been
(25:06):
times I didn't get mine done intime to submit it before I was
traveling, so I had to bring itwith me.
I would always recommendbringing a backup copy, and it
should be a backup copy on a USBthumb drive, because it's
downloaded to the central systemand then from the central
(25:30):
system it's sent electronicallyto the presentation room, and so
that's the advantage of sendingin advance.
You can walk in and you hityour talk and it pops up, but
there can be problems sometimes.
So I think it's always good tohave a backup of a USB drive.
(25:50):
Bring that with you.
If you didn't get it submittedin advance, you can go to the
speaker ready room and downloadyour talk.
The speaker ready room is alsothere.
So if you want to preview yourtalk before you give it, you can
go and call your talk up, lookat it, make sure that it all
(26:11):
looks right, that it translatedright when you sent it and
submitted it.
Samson Humphrey (26:16):
Yeah, yeah, great points, kurt.
I really appreciate thatmention about the USB drive.
I don't know if you know thisabout me, kurt, even though
we've been friends for quite awhile now.
I have great pride in being theUSB friend out of my group.
I'm the one who carries the USBdrive and I have like six
(26:39):
people who all put their talksonto it and I'm like the one
that they go to, and so I don'tknow, maybe that's another way
you could make friends at theconferences to be that reliable
person, just by having onelittle USB $10.
It's nothing.
Curt Rom (26:54):
That's great.
You know the other thing nowthat you think, now that you
mentioned that you know, whenyou hear a really good talk that
you really like, you might wantto go to that author and say
are you willing to share yourtalk with me?
And so if you have your laptopor your iPad and a USB drive,
(27:16):
you might be able to receive acopy, but you need to ask
permission to do that.
Another kind of pro tip is thatI practice.
So I mean, I've been going along time and I've taught a lot
of classes, but I always get alittle nervous before I talk and
so I always go to the roomwhere I'm going to give my
(27:37):
presentation the night before orsometime before, so I can get a
feel for the room, I know wherethe podium is going to be, I
know where the screen is goingto be, I know what the clicker
looks like, I know where thelaser pointer is and I can get
situated and I can getcomfortable.
So I really encourage peoplethat are giving oral
(27:59):
presentations get comfortablewith the space.
Do that a day or two beforeJust walk in there so you know
what it's like at the front ofthat room and it's a lot easier
when there's nobody sitting inthe chairs, so you can get
comfortable with that part of itwhere you're going to be and
how you're going to give yourtalk.
(28:19):
And then, when people come inand fill it up to listen to what
you've got to say, you alreadyknow where you are, how things
are going to operate, how theequipment works.
So prepare for that beforehand.
Samson Humphrey (28:34):
Absolutely, absolutely.
You could also go.
I like to do this.
Going ahead of time like 15minutes or 20 minutes is what I
target before the talks arescheduled to begin, because then
you can make sure your file ison their computer like it's
supposed to be.
But also you get to sit thereas people come in and you get to
(28:56):
say good morning and, like,start conversations, because
they're excited to be there too,and it'll be some other
presenters, and so that'sanother way to make friends.
At the conferences you, you getto actually make conversation
with the people that'll bewatching you and and and trying
to learn about your research.
Curt Rom (29:13):
Yeah, it's good, and every session has a moderator.
So it's if you're a speaker,it's important or it's good for
you to go meet your moderator,introduce them because they're
going to introduce you and findout how are they going to keep
time.
Are they going to stand up whenyou're at 11 or 12 minutes?
Are they going to hold up asign?
(29:33):
Are they going to hold up afinger, or are they just going
to stand up at 14 minutes andsay thank you very much for your
talk?
We're ready for the next one.
So it's always good to go meetyour moderator, find out how
they're going to moderate thesession and, if you're a speaker
, be mindful of your time,because the schedule's very
tight and the people arespeaking after you.
(29:56):
They want to give their talktoo and you want to hear their
talk, so you want to make surethat you finish up in a timely
manner, turn your presentationback over to the moderator so
they can moderate the questionand answer and then move on to
the next speaker.
Samson Humphrey (30:12):
Absolutely Okay .
So imagine you've come ahead oftime, your file is good, you've
presented your talk, you'vedone it in a timely manner and
now you have like two or threeor maybe four minutes of
question and answer Kurt, whocan ask questions?
Curt Rom (30:31):
That's a great question.
So the answer to the questionis anybody can ask questions.
So, again, this is wherethere's no rule.
So it doesn't matter if you'rean undergraduate student or if
you've been going to thesemeetings for 45 years.
If you have a relevant questionto ask about the presentation
that was just made, raise yourhand to be called on and you can
(30:55):
ask that question.
Called on and you can ask thatquestion.
So there's no rule that sayssome people can ask questions
and some people should not askquestions.
If you have a relevant questionto ask, it should be asked
because more than likely,somebody else is thinking it and
they may not have the courageto ask.
(31:16):
So ask it, so everybody canknow.
Samson Humphrey (31:25):
Absolutely Fantastic advice, kurt.
Thank you.
I do love the question andanswer section.
I feel like that's a lot ofpeople a lot of my peers at
least seem to see it as like themost stressful part because
they don't know what will happen.
But it always ends up being abit fun.
A lot of this conference stuffends up being a bit fun.
There are many, many otherevents pivoting away from oral
presentations.
There are many other events youcan attend as well.
(31:48):
One example I want to give thatyou may not give a second
thought to, because there's somuch else going on at the
conference, is resume reviews.
Now again, there's a lot goingon at the conference, but resume
reviews only take I think it's15 or 30 minutes, and they
(32:08):
repeatedly, for me, have beenone of my favorite parts of the
ASHS conference, because whatyou do is you can have your
resume on your laptop, if you'dlike digitally, or you can print
out.
If you're prepared more preparedthan I am you can print out a
copy of your resume and youbring it to the resume review
(32:31):
area and they'll have multiplescientists there who are
reviewing other resumes and sothey'll pair you with the
scientist and you get to sitdown with that person one-on-one
at a little table and they lookit over and they ask you
questions like are youinterested in industry, are you
interested in government?
What would someone be lookingfor on your resume?
(32:53):
And then they take that verywise, informed perspective and
they give you very directfeedback on the things you can
improve on.
Now, for me, I've hadphenomenal tips on little things
I could do to improve my resume, but I've also had maybe more
(33:14):
impactful were the conversationsI had on like the things that I
should value and consider doingin the future that would help
me toward my career goals.
And so they're.
Not only are there like littlechange that font sort of small
advice pieces given, but alsomuch deeper, much more
(33:35):
philosophical and long termadvice as well.
So that's one of the otherevents I love.
Kurt, what other events do youlove at ASHS?
Curt Rom (33:43):
Well related to the resume review.
There is a career center, so alot of departments and programs
and agencies and organizationsand institutions.
When you're looking forhorticulturists to fill
positions, whether they beentry-level positions or faculty
(34:05):
kinds of positions, what betterplace than to go to a
horticultural conference?
So there's a career centerthere and so if you're looking
for a position you can drop yourresume off.
If you want to look at what'savailable, there are usually
anywhere from 20 to 50 kind ofopen positions and you can
schedule an opportunity for alittle bit of a pre-interview
(34:28):
with another conferency thatmight be representing that that
position.
You know, for instance, I knowwe're going to be looking, my
university is going to belooking for some positions.
We look for graduate positions,postdoc positions, research,
technician positions.
So we always have a coupleannouncements there and this is
kind of our first screening.
(34:48):
This is a little bit of thedating.
So the career ceremony, I meanthe career center, is one of
those places that I really liketo go to.
There's also a whole bunch ofcompetitions.
I mean, we're scientists butmaybe we're a little competitive
.
For instance, there's an earlycareer competition for
(35:11):
professionals that have been inthe first five to seven years of
their career.
There are the three-minutethesis competition that we call
the Scholars Ignite three-minutepresentations.
That's always lots of fun.
That's kind of a lightninground of talks about exciting
things people are doing.
(35:31):
There's undergraduate posterand oral competition.
There's a graduate studentposter competition.
There's a trivia night forstudents that's lots of fun.
There's a controlledenvironment oral competition for
graduate students, afloriculture oral competition
(35:51):
for graduate students, plantgrowth regulator oral
competition for graduatestudents, ornamental plant
breeding oral competition solots of fun ways to engage.
And competitions means awardsand it usually means money and
so great way to showcase whatyou're doing in your work, to
(36:17):
show that you are competitiveand maybe to receive an
acknowledgement, award andreward for the work that you're
doing.
And then there are just somereally fun things.
So this year we broughtsomething back that I always
enjoy.
For those of us that like tomove, we're going to have a 5K
(36:37):
fun run and walk and this isopen to everybody.
It is a competition.
There are prizes given in agecategories and gender categories
, but really it's about justhaving fun.
So a number of times I have runthose and sometimes, you know,
(37:00):
especially if I'm the youngestin my age category I've done a
little bit better than when I'mthe oldest in my age category,
but it's just the fun of it.
We get a T-shirt that's alwaysfun to wear.
This year, just because Ihaven't decided yet, my running
is not up to where it should be.
I might just be walking it thisyear.
(37:21):
Just because I haven't decidedyet, my running is not up to
where it should be.
I might just be walking it thisyear, but it's really fun.
It's the 5k fun, run, walk kindof activity.
Just lots of other thingsbesides science presentations.
Great ways again to makefriends, build your network and
(37:42):
to engage as a professionalhorticulturist.
Samson Humphrey (37:45):
Absolutely.
But, kurt, I don't believe youfor one second.
I'm going to be at that finishline and you're going to be the
first one over.
I can see it right now.
Curt Rom (37:54):
Well, I do have, unfortunately, a little bit of a
competitive streak in me, but Ialso recognize that at my age
I'm not running at the speedthat I did 30 years ago.
Samson Humphrey (38:09):
Yeah, too much of your blood flow is working on
your brain.
It's too much brain power, Ithink, is what's going on All
right.
So one other thing I wanted tomention before we wrap up at the
tail of our little other eventsdiscussion is events that
aren't aren't official.
(38:30):
I really love that most of themeals are not actually there
aren't.
Usually.
There aren't always events goingon during mealtimes during
breakfast, lunch and dinner andso that makes it really easy for
me to ask other scientists andask my friends that I might only
see once a year to havebreakfast with me and to just
(38:52):
chat and catch up.
Or maybe you'll be invited toanother lab's annual catch-up
event I know I've been invitedto some that I felt very honored
to be invited to of other labsin my field that are just open
to talking with students thatare not part of their labs, and
(39:13):
getting that differentperspective is really wonderful,
as well as catching up withfriends.
So I would advise you to alsoconsider being proactive and
talking with people and askingthem to have a meal with you or
asking them to meet up aftercertain talks.
There's so much to look forwardto at these conferences, any
last thoughts, kurt.
Curt Rom (39:34):
Well, I agree with that.
You know, I think, findingpeople to go to Cafe Du Monde
and have beignets for breakfastyou need to find somebody to do
that.
You need to find some friendsto go eat some crawfish with and
you know New Orleans has thisarea of Bourbon Street.
(39:54):
You ought to find some friendsand just go out and experience
the culture of New Orleans withsome friends.
We're focused on the scienceand the aspects of the science,
but really one of the highlightsis being with your buddies and
(40:15):
going out and having that commonexperience enjoying a good meal
, enjoying an evening out.
That's maybe where the realscience occurs.
The presentations and theposters are where we just talk
about it, but where we reallyget down to the nitty gritty and
(40:35):
think about it, where the realidea is an inspiration.
They're probably going to comesitting around a table somewhere
.
Samson Humphrey (40:44):
With like-minded peers from different
universities and all sorts ofdifferent people getting
together to talk about theirthoughts Wonderful way, I agree
with that.
Curt Rom (40:54):
It's going to be a great conference.
I mean, it's just jam-packedwith things.
Again, prepare in advancethat's a big part of it.
Look at the program.
There's so much going on.
You need to develop yourschedule and your schedule will
show up in your calendar andyou'll get your notifications
that it's time to go and bewhere you need to be and then
(41:18):
just come ready to have a greattime.
Samson Humphrey (41:22):
I'm pumped, Kurt.
That's what I'm going to go doright now.
So where can our listeners goto learn more?
Curt Rom (41:29):
Again.
Go to the American Society forHorticulture Science website,
ashsorg.
Right on the top banner, you'llsee a link that says Conference
and you click on thatConference and it'll take you to
a smaller green box menu thathas a whole bunch of information
, including frequently askedquestions, all of the various
(41:54):
activities and the informationabout downloading the app, as
well as the entire conferenceschedule, as you'll be able to
see.
So that's where to start out,ashsorg.
Samson Humphrey (42:08):
Amazing.
Thank you so much for thisconversation, Kurt.
This was a delight.
Curt Rom (42:12):
Oh, it was so much fun and I'm excited about the
conference.
I know I need to practice mytalk a little bit more, but I've
got a couple of weeks to getthat done and I haven't gone
through everything I want to doyet.
But I'm looking forward toseeing my friends there, my
colleagues there.
Samson, I'm looking forward toseeing you there.
Samson Humphrey (42:34):
I can't wait.
Thank you for listeningeveryone.
I can't wait, Thank you forlistening everyone.
Curt Rom (42:43):
The ASHS podcast Plants, people and Science is
made possible by member dues andvolunteerism.
Please go to ashsorg to learnmore.
If you're not already a memberof the ASHS, we invite you to
join.
Ashs is a not-for-profit andyour donations are tax
(43:06):
deductible.
Samson Humphrey (43:08):
This episode was hosted by Samson Humphrey
and Kurt Rome.
Special thanks to our audioengineer, andrew Sheldorf, our
research specialists Lena Wilsonand Andrew Sheldorf, our ASHS
support team, sarah Powell andSally Murphy, and our musician
John Clark.
Thanks for listening.
Thank you.
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