Route J-1

By Kata, J-1 Intern from Austria

Katya rotating plant racks at her internship at Plant Delights.

Going to another country and experiencing their way of life was something I always desired. At a very young age, I did several exchanges to countries like New Zealand and Spain, but I was never interested in going to the United States. Nevertheless, I think it was meant to be that I heard about this great nursery called Plant Delights, a mail order nursery that exists to create an amazing botanical garden in the so-called triangle area of North Carolina. Having spent most of my youth in a specialty nursery, I knew this was the place to be to receive further training for my horticultural career.

In 2015, I started doing more research on Plant Delights as part of my master’s thesis on networks and knowledge transfer in the perennial business. It only made sense to include this nursery in my research since it is internationally known for its exotic and highly rare perennials. After a one day visit to this nursery and botanical garden, I knew that this is where I wanted to do an internship. I talked to my intern coordinator and was connected with J-1 sponsor Ohio State University, who helped me obtain a J-1 visa.  After a lot of paperwork, I was ready for departure on February 1. When I arrived in the United States, my coordinator picked me up from the airport, took me to my future home and showed me around.

Katya networking at Cultivate 2016 with Garden Industry Communicator Brie
Arthur and Art Parkerson, CEO of Lancaster Farm.

For the first three weeks I rotated to different departments. This was a perfect opportunity for me to get to know the company and the people that work there. It made it very easy to feel just like one of them and be part of an outstanding team. Since then, I have been working in different departments, including the management levels of this unique nursery. Working side by side with different managers increased my horticulture knowledge, as well as business knowledge enormously.

Apart from becoming a better horticulturist, I also learned a lot about the United States, its people, and culture. I clearly remember the first time I was invited to a dinner at a friend’s house. She said that dinner was at 7 p.m. As an Austrian, not only do we not eat a warm meal at night, but we also eat dinner around 7 p.m. I was starving by the time they served a delicious steak at 8:30 p.m. Its little things like this that are different between Austria and the United States.

Katya with her dad’s selection of Angelina Sedum,
a perennial succulent plant.

After a short while, I started appreciating a lot of these differences. Now, I wonder how I will like it when I return to my home county. No matter what happens next in my life, I know that this year was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had in my life. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to be part of the J-1 intern program.

Categories: Program Spotlight