Student Spotlight Profiles

• 
  Lizzy Hucker
  Wildlife Ecology

  During the first semester of her freshman year, Lizzy Hucker joined Zach Peery’s wildlife ecology and conservation lab—and she has not looked back since.

  Hucker, who has a deep appreciation for snakes, will be graduating this spring with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology. Read about Hucker’s snake research project in the Peery Lab.

• 
  Lusayo Mwakatika
  Commencement Speaker, Agricultural Business Management

  Lusayo Mwakatika grew his first garden at the age of 14. He harvested his own vegetables, sold them to friends and neighbors, and used the earnings as his allowance. It was a living extension of the passion for agriculture he developed while growing up in Malawi, where farming is a pillar of culture.

  

  In May, Mwakatika will leave UW–Madison with a degree in agricultural business management and a certificate in entrepreneurship. His plan is to continue the work he started while on campus: renovating the agricultural sector in Malawi. And as he looks to his own future, he’ll be ushering his classmates into their own with the words he shares as student commencement speaker.

  Read more about Mwakatika’s experiences.

• 
  Emily Hoffins
  Life Sciences Communication

  Emily Hoffins, who is graduating this spring with a bachelor’s degree in life sciences communication and a certificate in business management for agricultural and life sciences, comes from a proud Badger family. Her grandfather, an English immigrant, earned his Ph.D. at CALS and became a CALS professor, and her grandmother, a German immigrant, worked as a lab technician in the college’s Enzyme Research Institute. Hoffins’ parents are both UW–Madison grads, and her older brother graduated with a CALS degree. So, needless to say, it means a lot to Hoffins to join the Badger alumni community.

  Hoffins is graduating in just three years, thanks to AP credits from high school, the CALS QuickStart program and big course loads. Her self-motivation and hard work have paid off: Hoffins will be starting a Ph.D. program at UW–Madison this fall. Check out this Q&A, where Hoffins talks about her academic path, career plans, and some of her favorite experiences as an undergrad.

• 
  Taylor Meyer
  Genetics and Genomics

  Taylor Meyer, a native of Marshfield, Wisconsin, will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in genetics and genomics after just three years at UW–Madison. She was in the inaugural cohort of CALS QuickStart, a program designed to help incoming first-year CALS students get a summer start on coursework, reduce their time to graduation and join a cohort of other students. Check out this Q&A, where Meyer talks about some of her favorite undergrad experiences and shares advice for students interested in doing undergraduate research.

• 
  Abdullah Syed Hussaini
  Agricultural Business Management

  Abdullah first decided to pursue a degree in Agricultural Business Management when he began raising sheep in high school. This spring, he will reach this goal – and he will also receive certificates in Food Systems, Environmental Studies, and Entrepreneurship.

  Throughout his academic career Hussaini has been actively involved in the ag industry, interning at UW’s Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center on a project to improve industrial hemp. Abdullah also  participated in the Grassland 2.0 project, researching the supply chain model of the lamb industry in the Upper-Midwest and scouting niche opportunities to grow markets in halal and grass-fed lamb.

  After graduating, Abdullah hopes to secure full-time employment and continue his passion for regenerative agriculture. In the future, he aspires to return to his own sheep operation while providing goods and services to halal consumers.

• 
  Haley Trecker
  Biology

  Haley Trecker admits she was pretty nervous back in 2018 about coming to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. As the first person in her family to go to college, she was largely on her own to figure out the application process, choose a field of study, and prepare for life on campus. In Bristol, Wisconsin, Trecker had grown accustomed to small class sizes and the quiet atmosphere of rural Kenosha County. The thought of being two hours away from her family almost made her not want to go.

  Now, after just three years at UW–Madison, Trecker will graduate early with a degree in biology focused on oncology and virology, and already has a job lined-up with the biopharmaceutical company AbbVie. She credits QuickStart — an early-start program in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences — with making her shorter-than-average time in Madison packed with purpose, fulfillment and fun.

  Read about Trecker’s college experience.