66 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2018 KNOWN AS THE father of the Green Revolution, Norman Borlaug saved millions of lives throughout the world by developing high-yielding wheat varieties during the mid-20th century. He was also known for training large numbers of young people, whom he referred to as “hunger fighters,” to follow in his footsteps. Nine years after his death, we sat down with a few of these modern hunger- fighters during the recent 2018 National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) meeting in Guelph, Ontario. These eight individuals comprise this year’s Borlaug Scholars, young people who represent the next generation of plant breeding leaders. Each scholar offers important advice and lessons for how to succeed in the chal- lenging modern world of plant breeding, including how to stay focused and moti- vated and how to shatter old myths such as the belief that sacrificing sleep for study- ing is a recipe for success, and the opinion that science and spirituality can’t coexist. But we didn’t just take their word for it. The advice they give and lessons they offer are backed up by experienced stalwarts of the plant breeding world who can attest that young breeders are coming up in a different time, but one that’s still governed by timeless wisdom as true today as it was in the past. Manage Your Time Dorothy Kirsch lives a life familiar to most undergrads. The 21-year-old biol- ogy major at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota studies plant and ear height in maize. She’s originally from Wesley, Iowa, and is an intern at the DuPont Pioneer Research Station in Algona. Kirsch is a member of the National Biological Honor Society Beta Beta Beta and the National Scholastic Honor Society Delta Epsilon Sigma. Getting the most out of life is in her DNA. After finishing her bachelor’s degree, she plans Seed World sits down with some of the best young minds to find out what it takes to succeed in the modern world of plant breeding. Marc Zienkiewicz mzienkiewicz@issuesink.com Secrets to Success from the Next Generation Dorothy Kirsch is a biology major at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. to complete her doctorate in applied plant sciences with an emphasis on plant breeding and bioinformatics. She has a simple secret that underpins her success: she’s a morning person. This helps her to manage her time well and stay fresh. “I try to plan all my classes for early in the morning and get my schedule planned in the morning before most people are awake. I also often do some homework at work depending on how busy we are,” she says. Elizabeth Lee began her own educa- tion in plant breeding in the early 1980s and says one important lesson she’s learned over the years is to not fall victim to workaholism. Lee is a plant scientist at the University of Guelph specializing in maize. She’s been involved with NAPB since its inception and helped organize this year’s meeting. “You have to acknowledge times have changed,” she says. “There is more stress in breeding — the profession has changed because you’re always plugged in now. We need to start thinking of the expec- tations we have of grad students work- ing six or even seven days a week. Just because we did that back in the day, that shouldn’t necessarily be the expectation we have now.”