For many students, the path to a career in industry can seem uncertain. What type of education, experiences, and soft skills are in demand for that first role out of graduate school? Come to hear one story of a journey from a Masters program in Plant Pathology, to a successful and satisfying career at Corteva Agriscience. No two career paths are the same, but the more knowledge you have of what a career in industry can look like, the better prepared you will be to know if industry is the right fit for you—and how best to prepare for a future role.

Karen Lackermann leads the Seed Applied Technologies Discovery and Development Group at Corteva Agriscience, and is based at Corteva’s Global Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. She started with Corteva in 2013 and has had multiple roles within the Research and Development organization during that time, including roles in both the seeds and crop protection portions of the business. Karen received her MS in Plant Pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010, with a focus on field crop pathology.