Emrys Stromberg

From an early age, ethnobotanist Emrys Stromberg (BAAS ’23) was inspired by the parks and gardens in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York. “I connected with the green spaces—the natural places; they really provided me a lot of peace, growing up in the city,” he shares. Fascinated by the relationship between plants and people, Emrys took a job out of high school at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, turning his passion into his vocation. Nearly 20 years into his career, inspiration struck again when he decided to apply to Penn’s Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences. 

While Emrys knew Penn by reputation, he explains, he never considered applying before a fortuitous visit to campus in 2019. “My discovery of the Penn BAAS was serendipitous, and nontraditional, like all of my life,” he summarized with a smile.

At the time he was completing a two-year professional horticulture work-study at the renowned Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia. The program brought him back into an academic setting, he says, and convinced him that earning his degree was an important next career step. When a research field trip with Longwood brought him to Penn’s James G. Kaskey Park—home of the Department of Biology’s greenhouses, which feature 450 native and non-native plant species—Emrys was impressed. He started to investigate what options Penn might have for a career-minded, returning student like him.

Emrys recalls the warm reception from BAAS program director Kathy Urban. “Talking to Kathy helped guide a lot of my decisions,” he says. “She took the time to talk to me not just about academics, but about gardening and plants and my experiences at Longwood. That was very useful to me and very inviting.”

He applied to the BAAS in 2020 to pursue the physical and life sciences concentration. And once enrolled at Penn, Emrys says, “All these doors just opened up.”

The online asynchronous program delivery allowed Emrys to pursue his degree while continuing to do fieldwork as an ethnobotanist. “I started the degree in Philadelphia, but completed the program from Mexico, sometimes from really remote places,” he says. While taking a full course load, his professional life included collaborating on research with the Botanical Gardens in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and spending a year with the Huichol people in western Mexico. “The Huichol are one of Mexico's oldest surviving cultures who continue to practice their traditions as they did hundreds of years ago,” he explains. “I was researching the plants that they use for food and medicine and spiritual purposes.”

Emrys folded that research into his college experience, submitting an award-winning essay on the Huichol and biocultural conservation to Penn’s 2021 Perry World House Undergraduate Essay Prize.

“The mission of the Perry World House really connected with me and my work to better conditions globally through the sciences and anthropology,” he says. He put his heart into his essay and was moved when he was announced an undergraduate prize winner. “It gave me a sense of fulfillment and reaffirmed that I was on the right path and I could be successful,” he says. “It was a landmark along my path at Penn.”

Another validating achievement for Emrys was receiving a Kay Scholarship, one of several competitive scholarships at Penn that are open to BAAS students.

Emrys also found encouragement and direction from his instructors. Always proactive with relationships, he recalls building strong connections with M. Ruth Elliott, who teaches PHYL 1200: Foundations of Life Sciences, and Valerie Ross, faculty director of the Penn LPS Online Certificate in Professional Writing. “Academically, they understood my interests, but also they started to get to know me personally,” he says. Their support helped guide his unfolding academic journey.

Following his interests, Emrys earned the Certificate in Professional Writing and the Certificate in Science Foundations. “Penn really opened avenues to study and practice the communication of science, which I love to do,” he says. Enthusiasm for a third subject—climate change, however, was unexpected. “Climate change is so relevant to plant science,” he discovered. “It’s one of those things that came along in the program and enriched my experience that I hadn’t considered before; That’s part of pursuing a passion and taking logical steps towards a goal,” he says.

Not only did Emrys complete the Certificate in Climate Change (bringing his certificate count to three), but he will continue to study climate this fall in graduate school. “I’ve been accepted to the ethnobotany master of science program at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England,” he shares, adding a note of thanks to Ross and Elliot for their letters of recommendation. His master’s thesis will focus on climate resilience in the temperate rainforests of Scotland.

Before completing his degree at Penn, Emrys received a final accolade in May: The LPS Award for Academic Achievement in the Natural Sciences, which recognizes a graduating senior for outstanding academic achievement in science studies and dedication to a career in the sciences. Emrys humbly credits the recognition to engaging with the community. “Part of being recognized is just getting to know the people in the program and sharing my story,” he says.

And sharing his story, he hopes, will inspire other nontraditional students to consider what the Penn BAAS has to offer. “It’s been a great progression,” Emrys says, reflecting on his academic milestones so far. “Everything came together at Penn. I’m really grateful that it was possible to get such a quality education, to build a community with people, and do it all without being on campus—it’s pretty amazing.”