{"id":21646,"date":"2026-06-02T13:41:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T17:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/?p=21646"},"modified":"2026-06-02T13:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T17:41:11","slug":"kaylyn-wood-pls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/news\/kaylyn-wood-pls\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Her Roots: URI Plant Sciences Helped Kaylyn Wood Grow Her Passion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Kaylyn Wood first arrived at the University of Rhode Island, she thought she had her future mapped out. Interested in psychology and social work, she envisioned a career helping young people navigate difficult circumstances. But somewhere between lecture halls and elective courses, she found a class that changed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was looking through course options and saw there was a vegetable growing class,\u201d Wood says. \u201cI thought, \u2018What is plant sciences<\/a>?!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning Comes to Life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What began as an exploratory course quickly turned into a calling. Wood later enrolled in Hydroponic Vegetable Production<\/em> with Professor Rebecca Brown<\/a>, and the hands-on experience of that class immediately stood apart from some of the lecture-heavy courses she had been taking. Wood eventually declared a double major in plant sciences and psychology with minors in entrepreneurship and cannabis studies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Wood, the appeal of plant sciences at URI is deeply connected to the program\u2019s experiential learning model. Classes combine lectures with labs, greenhouse work, field visits, and research projects, giving students the opportunity to actively engage with what they are learning. \u201cIn plant sciences, all the classes somehow connect to each other,\u201d Wood says. \u201cYou learn similar concepts in different ways across your courses, and it really reinforces the knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Wood (right) with URI Ph.D. student Deniz Camli-Saunders during a plant propogation course. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI actually get to see things happen,\u201d she adds. \u201cI get to go through all the processes myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That approach has been especially meaningful for Wood, who says she learns best by doing. \u201cIt can be hard to sit through huge lectures and absorb everything,\u201d she says. \u201cBut in plant sciences, the professor gives you information and then you actually do it. That\u2019s how I learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood says URI\u2019s plant sciences department fostered a welcoming and collaborative environment from the start. Small class sizes helped her build close relationships with both classmates and professors, something she says feels different from the experience of being in larger lecture courses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe people are so welcoming,\u201d she says. \u201cThe professors are incredibly knowledgeable, and everyone feels comfortable asking questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing Through Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood\u2019s enthusiasm for the field extends beyond academics. Through coursework, independent studies, and employment at a Rhode Island microgreens farm, she has developed practical greenhouse and crop management skills that she says have prepared her for a future career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of her favorite classes, Plant Propagation<\/em> with Professor Nathan Lambstrom, required students to regularly care for and monitor plants outside scheduled class time. \u201cYou really learn how to pay attention,\u201d she says. \u201cEvery plant is different, and you have to understand what it needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That process, she says, also taught her something about herself. \u201cYou have to take care of yourself too,\u201d she says. \u201cHow are you going to take care of a plant if you can\u2019t take care of yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood recently completed an independent study on lavender substrate stratification, experimenting with different soil layering techniques to improve plant growth. The project challenged some of her assumptions about drainage and water retention in lavender production.\u201cMy favorite part was being proven wrong,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s how you learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her interests increasingly turned toward herbal medicine after witnessing the impact medicinal cannabis had on a close family member living with PTSD. \u201cSeeing the difference before and after was so powerful,\u201d she says. \u201cIt made me really interested in herbal medicine and how plants can help people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That experience inspired her to pursue URI\u2019s cannabis studies minor, where she learned about plant-based medicine, cannabinoid receptors, and the science behind medicinal cannabis. \u201cYou think it\u2019s just about cannabis, but you can apply what you learn to so many different kinds of herbal medicine,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Caring for plants has taught Wood more than horticulture. \u201cEvery plant is different, and you have to understand what it needs,\u201d she says. The lesson applies to people, too, she says.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Growing a Future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Wood dreams of combining her interests in plant sciences, psychology, entrepreneurship, and herbal medicine into a business of her own. She hopes to one day grow medicinal and therapeutic plants while educating people about how to use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to grow herbal medicine plants and teach people how to make things like essential oils,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a real need for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the way, URI\u2019s plant sciences program has helped her discover a confidence she once struggled to find. \u201cWhen I first started college, I felt like I wasn\u2019t smart,\u201d she says. \u201cThen I started taking plant science classes, and I realized I just learn differently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Wood encourages students \u2014 especially those unsure of their academic path \u2014 to stay open to unexpected opportunities. \u201cThere are so many majors people don\u2019t even know exist,\u201d she says. \u201cPlant sciences ended up being exactly where I was supposed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through hands-on classes, greenhouse work, and research opportunities, Kaylyn Wood found a career path rooted in plants, wellness, and entrepreneurship. She’s now double majoring in plant sciences and psychology with minors in entrepreneurship and cannabis studies.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1089,"featured_media":21647,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21646"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21652,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21646\/revisions\/21652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}