Learn Why One UD Degree Wasn't Enough for Danielle Mikolajewski

“I am a Delaware native, so I always wanted to go to UD because it seemed so cool. It is one of the best universities in the country and has a small-college feel on a big-college campus. Main Street has a great vibe, and the sports teams are fun to root for. I always felt safe at UD and appreciate Delaware so much more now that I have moved away.

I had the best lab experience and made so many connections and friends. My undergraduate years were full of amazing memories, like being a part of the marching band — the last football game of my senior year was special to me because I knew that I would never be doing anything like that again.

I was drawn to the plant science program because it addressed my interests in environmental issues and nature, and it allowed me to get involved in research on plant pathology even as an undergraduate student. When it came time to choose my master’s program in plant and soil sciences, I received a great scholarship from UD and I had the chance to study the resistance of the American elm to Dutch elm disease, research that set me on a course for my current doctoral work.

I always appreciated that the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources faculty and administration really cared about students and listened. And if a day was going badly, my friends and I were just a short walk from UDairy, which always made things better.”

- Danielle Mikolajewski