CAHNRS Talk Tuesday: Grace Murekatete

Each week, we showcase one of our CAHNRS Ambassadors, a student leadership organization that encourages students to pursue higher education and serves as a liaison between the college and the greater community. This week, we’re featuring Grace Murekatete, a junior from Kigali, Rwanda.Graphic of student's interests with a formal portrait photo.

What are you studying?

I’m majoring in Agricultural Biotechnology.

Favorite Show/Movie:

Grey’s Anatomy

Favorite Cougar Tradition:

My favorite Cougar tradition is participating in the many student organizations offered throughout Pullman. As an International Student, I like making connections with different students, both domestic and international, through the different organizations offered on the WSU campus. WSU became my second home years ago, and these student organizations help emphasize that home-town feeling I’ve come to love so much.

Favorite CAHNRS Commodity:

The very first commodity of CAHNRS I tasted when I got to WSU was Ferdinand’s Ice Cream. And what a great first taste it was! There’s nothing like Ferdinand’s ice cream anywhere in the world. I liked most of the flavors, but nothing beats traditional Vanilla. Now I feel like going there every Friday!

Why be a CAHNRS Coug?

I initially decided to be a CAHNRS Coug because it offered the major I wanted to pursue. I also chose to become a Coug because of all the resources CAHNRS offers, resources that are needed to be successful as an Agricultural Biotechnology major. These resources made CAHNRS one of the best colleges I looked at! I was raised in and attended high school in Rwanda, so I did not have much information about American universities. I still wanted to further my education in the United States, so I decided to do research about different universities in America. Washington State University was the best among my choices. That choice was primarily driven by all the resources I found in CAHNRS, but now I am proud to be CAHNRS Coug for all the college has to offer!

Best Student Experience:

My best experience as a CAHNRS Coug has been the research opportunities I have participated in. Since my freshman year, I have worked in the Genotyping lab. Not only did I find the research to be motivation towards my goals, I also really appreciated how my co-workers collaborated with me. Since I grew up in a totally different environment, my co-worker’s willingness to collaborate with me was surprising. I will always be grateful to be a CAHNRS Coug.

CAHNRS Taught Me:

As a CAHNRS Coug, I have been exposed to many different opportunities since coming here three years ago that have all taught me a lot. One of the biggest educators in this time has been internships. During the summer of 2017, I had an internship working with varieties of Winter and Spring Wheat. Before the internship, I did not know how people manage their wheat projects, something that is important here in the Pacific Northwest. The internship not only taught me a lot about different varieties of wheat, but also developed my abilities as a researcher. The impact from the internship has made a difference for me both now as a student, and as a future researcher.