Team Botany at SCSU

We are scientists conducting research, enthusiasts sharing plants in the greenhouse and during outreach events, curators and stewards of historical collections in the SCL herbarium, and science communicators aiming to educate and promote plant sciences.

Kendall Cross (they/he)

MS student; Floristics, herbaria, & carnivorous plants

Victoria Helfenstein (she/her)

Undergraduate student

Mckenna Sheldon

Undergraduate student; Greenhouse intern, husky tomato F5 development

Zay Ruppert (they/he)

Undergraduate student: Greenhouse intern, husky tomato F5 development, and potato pathogens

Melanie Harris

Undergraduate student; herbarium assistant & DNA extraction

Angela McDonnell, PhD (she/her)

Associate Professor, Herbarium & Greenhouse Director

Jenisha Lama

Undergraduate student; greenhouse intern, F5 Husky Tomato development

Nataly Minor

Undergraduate student; greenhouse intern, F5 Husky Tomato development

You?

Undergraduate student interested in being a greenhouse intern!

You?

Likes plants, herbaria, bioinformatics, analyzing data, greenhouses, or any combination of those.

You?

MS seeking student looking for opportunities to conduct evolutionary biology and/or plant research!

Lab Alumni (we miss you, keep in touch!)

Sam Hennemann, '24 & MS '26: Rare plants/Parthenium integrifolium in MN morphometrics and niche modeling
Makayla Michael, '26: herbarium staff, greenhouse intern
Roman Jordan, '26: herbarium reorganization
Caitlin Kertz, '25: greenhouse intern, plant propagation
Katie Lavato, '25: greenhouse intern
Aurora Lundberg: greenhouse graduate assistant
Jamie Smith: greenhouse intern, morphometrics of Parthenium
AnnElise Swanson, '25: herbarium assistant, F4 Husky Tomato development