Marie Schaedel grew up in Chicago, Illinois and earned her B.A. in Biology from Carleton College. A semester spent in Tanzania fueled Marie’s interest in tropical agriculture and inspired her to continue working abroad. Marie stayed at Carleton after graduating to work as an Educational Associate. During this time, Marie managed a team of undergraduate researchers and studied the role of the popS protein in the development of Bacterial Wilt Disease in tomatoes. Following this year of lab work, Marie returned to her passion for tropical agriculture and served as an Environment and Food Security Volunteer with the Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa 2016-2018. During her time in Togo, Marie organized a national summer science camp for girls and worked with local growers’ cooperatives to introduce rabbit husbandry to improve food security and household income. Marie was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for a project proposal inspired by her work in Togo with a nitrogen-fixing ground cover to enhance soil fertility. As a Ph.D. student in the Applied Plant Sciences department, Marie intends to study the role of plant-microbe interactions in building sustainable agricultural systems and promoting livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa.