Graduate Profiles- Susanna Derksen ’24

Have you often wondered where graduates end up after they finish at the School of Horticulture? Or curious what career options are available in the industry? In our monthly series we’ll highlight a different graduate every month to showcase the diversity. We’ll be sharing the full inside look here on our website!

Say Hello to Susanna Derksen, Class of 2024!

As one of our newest graduates and alumnus, Susanna has been quite busy! From an internship at the Garden in the Woods in Massachusetts, U.S.A and most recently Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the London, England, we are excited to see where Susanna lands next!

Q: Where do you currently work? What is your position there?

A: For the past 5 weeks, I have had the pleasure of interning at Kew gardens. 

This was a 5-week placement, where each week I had the joy of working in a new garden space with new horticulturists. This internship was set up for me based on my interests and goals. 

For week one, I was working in the Evolution Garden – weeding and doing fall-cleanup.

Week two I was on a 7-day seed collecting trip, we went to Lincolnshire to collect native/common woody species of UK; Collections will be saved in the Millenium Seed Bank (MSB), as well as distributed for research, conservation and restoration work.

For week three I was at Wakehurst – where every day was different. I got to work in the MSB nursery, plant trees in the landscape, do some fall clean up, plantings in the North American Prairie Garden as well as some propagation work.

Week four I spent in the Natural Areas, back at Kew – where we did some work in their meadow and pond, as well as some invasive species control and moth ID. During week four, I helped one of the Arb crews, cleaning up a disregarded area, bringing it back up to standard – removing bramble, self-seeded trees and lots of pruning. 

Coming to Kew, I was most excited for the seed collection trip, as it presented such a fun/unique opportunity that relates directly to what I am interested in doing. It’s hard to pick a favourite week, but it was truly an unforgettable trip! 

Q: What are your goals or next steps after Kew? 

A: I am fairly open to what opportunities open up, looking to find either a seasonal job or internship somewhere in North America. There’s so much to learn and experience, which is why I am motivated to grow my skills as a horticulturist in spaces that offer new experiences, plants, people and landscapes to learn from. 

Q: What is one thing SOH prepared you for that helped in the transition to Kew? Or is there something you wish the school had touched on prior to graduation?

A: Freshly graduated, I was a little nervous to come to Kew, but found myself fairly comfortable in the gardens and among the horticulturists here, many of whom are students/apprentices at Kew’s School of Horticulture, themselves! I’d say preparing students to work at botanic gardens in the fullest-sense: from the general skills/knowledge that goes into seasonal/ornamental garden maintenance, to working as a team, and the plant ID that we leave with. More importantly, teaching us how to make the most of each opportunity/experience and how to take pride in yourself as a horticulturist are all things I thank the school and my peers at SOH for! 

Thank you Susanna for sharing your journey so far with us! It is great to hear from alumni from all stages in their careers!

If you would like to be featured here and inspire the current and future generations of green thumbs make sure to complete our graduate survey here: https://forms.gle/pt2MPgJsALYdf1b3A.

Through the Alumni Foundation and the Weston Family Foundation (formerly Garfield Weston Foundation) Susanna received a bursary that helped her pursue this great opportunity. This bursary was created by the Alumni Foundation and made possible by the Weston Foundation in 2018 and is awarded to final year students to pursue work-learn experiences abroad.