Adrienne Nottingham isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty. The West Virginia University student has proven it as a member of the Youth Conservation Corps and a nationally ranked member of the WVU Soils Team. In September, she’ll get a chance to prove it to the world.
Nottingham, a native of Green Bank, W.Va., will be the first Mountaineer to compete in the International Field Course and Soil Judging Contest Sept. 1-5 in G�d�llő, Hungary.
Part of the celebrations of the International Year of Soils, the event is an opportunity for students and scholars to interact and experience the landscapes and soils of Hungary and the Danube Basin. Competitors will use their knowledge and practical skills to describe, understand and interpret soil characteristics in the field.
Nottingham has honed her judging skills during her time in WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. Since earning her undergraduate degree in soil science in 2014, she’s been pursuing a master of science in agronomy. She placed third in the 2015 National Collegiate Soils Contest, qualifying her for the international tourney.
“I never would have had an opportunity like this if not for the WVU Soils Team and our coach, Dr. Jim Thompson,” Nottingham said.
Her interest in soil science began in high school, however, alongside another alumna of WVU’s soil science program.
“During my junior year, I was selected to work for the U.S. Forest Service’s Monongahela National Forest as part of the Youth Conservation Corps,” Nottingham said. “During this time, I had the opportunity to work the Monongahela’s forest soil scientist, Stephanie Connolly.” Connolly is a 1995 graduate of the Davis College and an award-winning soil scientist in her own right.
“That first day in the field with Ms. Connolly, we dug, sampled and described a soil pit. I was intrigued by the different soil horizons and their unique properties. I wondered what soil in other areas might look like. I remember telling my parents that I wanted to be a soil scientist,” Nottingham said.
Connolly continued to mentor Nottingham. For the past five years, Nottingham has been working with scientists from the Monongahela National Forest, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and WVU. She’s currently Connolly’s full-time assistant forest soil scientist. The experience has helped shape Nottingham’s professional goals.
“It is a rare thing to see a young person know in her heart with passion and conviction what she wants to achieve both personally and professionally,” Connolly said of Nottingham. “Adrienne strongly possesses this knowledge and strives every day to achieve her goal.
“We all are so proud that Adrienne will be competing in Hungary and representing the USA,” Connolly continued. “She is one of the few persons who has a chance to be the best at in the world at something. And no matter how she does in her competition, she’s already viewed as one of the best within the Forest Service and a bright light for the future of soil scientists within the Forest Service.”
“After I’m done with school, I hope to find a job as a forest soil scientist in a national forest,” Nottingham said. “My involvement with soil judging at WVU has allowed me to learn about and describe soils from different regions. This experience will help me immensely as a professional soil scientist.”
First, though, there’s the challenge in Hungary and the chance to bring honor to her alma mater. “The fact that I’ll be learning more about soils while representing WVU makes this experience even more rewarding for me.”
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CONTACT: David Welsh, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design
304.293.2394, David.Welsh@mail.wvu.edu
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