Aaron Joslin is a Ph.D. student in tropical agroforestry who wants to improve smallholding farmers’ sustainability to reduce pressure on native forests.
Hometown:
Oak Ridge, TN
High School:
Oak Ridge High School
Degree objective:
Ph.D.
Other degrees:
M.S. — UGA
B.S. — Guilford College
Expected graduation:
December 2017
University highlights, achievements, awards and scholarships:
— Office of Sustainability grant for campus composting.
— Tinker Graduate Research Travel Award (twice).
Current Employment:
Teaching Assistant, Warnell School of Forestry
I chose to attend UGA because…
Dr. Larry Morris and Dr. Daniel Markewitz were interested in conducting an agroforestry research study in Brazil. Since I had served in Peace Corps and learned the value of agroforestry to smallholding farmers in Latin America by working with farming families in my community, I was eager to make myself more knowledgeable in the area. I had also spent about one-and-a-half years in Brazil, so I was also eager to continue learning about Brazil.
My favorite things to do on campus are…
… eat lunch at the Mary Kahrs Warnell garden and pond, and attend protest rallies at the Arch.
When I have free time, I like…
… to paint. Since graduate school started my artistic productivity has nose-dived, but I enjoy making vivid psychedelic dreamscapes.
The craziest thing I’ve done is…
… surf in an enormous winter swell in Brazil. I caught the smallest wave in the set, which had a 25-foot face.
My favorite place to study is…
… in my office.
My favorite professor is…
… Kerry Steinberg.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with…
… Thich Nhat Hanh.
If I knew I could not fail, I would…
… start my own demonstration farm.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to…
… visit every country on Earth.
What is your passion and how are you committed to pursuing it?
My passion is to reduce tropical deforestation and my graduate program in tropical agroforestry is geared toward improving smallholding farmers’ sustainability to reduce pressure on native forests.
After graduation, I plan to…
… try to work in tropical America.
The one UGA experience I will always remember will be…
… winning a grant from the Office of Sustainability to implement a composting project in the break room of Warnell (Forestry) and Odum (Ecology), and with the data I generated UGA expanded the project across campus to many, if not all, academic buildings.