Lyle Usdin

he/him
Undergraduate Fellow
Forest Biodiversity Team

How did you get here? What brought you to Tyson?

I've been trying to occupy myself with the thing that's gonna make me most happy. I learned about Tyson through Jonathan [Myers] and it sounded like something that I would have fun doing over the summer. So that was really my biggest decision, that it sounded like something fun. I'm pretty stoked. The days go by fast. I like being physically tired but not stressed about work. Might as well do that while I can… and it's a good change of pace from classes.

Why did you choose your specific team?

When I was looking to work in an ecology lab last summer, I sent emails to three people. One of them replied. It was Rachel Penczykowski. I worked in Rachel's lab for two weeks. They trained me, they were super kind and welcoming, and then nearly two and a half months after I had initially emailed, Jonathan Myers finally responded. I felt bad, but I was honest with her, I went with my gut. I told her, “I'm so sorry. I appreciate this but this opportunity seems perfect for me.” I've been pretty happy working in Jonathan’s lab, it’s been a great decision.

What might the other teams not realize about what your team is doing?

From an outsider's perspective, it might seem monotonous, but time goes by incredibly fast. There's just enough variety in the types of things we have to do that it keeps moving. The only thing that we ever do indoors is seed sorting. That is something I've been doing during the year and I enjoy doing. You pick through dirt and find the seeds and others complain but I find it entertaining enough. It's kind of a challenge.

What has surprised you about this summer?

I felt really welcomed by the community, but more specifically, by the immediate team members I'm working with, including our technicians. They are wonderful. It's been awesome to get to know these four people from all over the country that are charting their path two years ahead of me. That's been really neat. It’s helpful to see the slightly different decisions that they've made and where they're headed now based on those decisions because I'm making those exact same decisions.

What’s been an affirming moment in your work this summer?

It's always fun when I can walk up to a tree and know what it is. I guess what has been really exciting to me this summer though is…I'm not a great morning person, but with this work, I've had no problem waking up at 6:30 and being excited to go through my day. That's exciting for me to know I can do that.

What moments have made you feel most connected to the Tyson community?

When I get to participate in a back deck lunch, it feels like a special lunch because it feels like I participate in less than half. Also, the undergraduate overnight, not everyone stayed, it was a minority of people, but that was an event I really felt connected to the Tyson community. Sitting around the campfire with mostly other teams, that was fun.