For entomology students, life does not always take place amid a crowded campus and busy hallways. Instead, it may happen at a place like Clemson University’s Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence, South Carolina. Here, a rainbow arches over the fields and pond the PDREC. One entomology graduate student shares how working and living at a remote research station has shaped her academic experience and career journey. (Photo by Nisha Yadav)

By Nisha Yadav

Nisha Yadav

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series contributed by the ESA Student Affairs Committee. See other posts by and for entomology students here at Entomology Today.

When I began working toward my master’s degree at Clemson University, I imagined graduate school would resemble my undergraduate years: a crowded campus and busy hallways. My first semester felt familiar; it moved through the routines of a traditional university environment.

Everything changed when my research shifted to the Pee Dee Research and Education Center (PDREC), home of the Turf and Ornamental Entomology Lab led by Zee Ahmed, Ph.D., in Florence, South Carolina. The day that Dr. Zee drove me from the main campus to the station marked a turning point in my life. As we left the campus behind, buildings disappeared and farmland stretched in every direction. When we arrived, a single research building stood in fields and forests, more than 200 miles across the state from Clemson’s main campus. My first thought was immediate and honest: I do not know if I can live here.

Adapting to a Different World

The transition was hard. I had always lived in places where everything was accessible. At the research station, nothing was nearby. Graduate housing sat within the woods. The roads were quiet, the evenings still, and silence felt overwhelming. I missed the familiarity and convenience of campus life.

Nisha Yadav, a Ph.D. student in the Turf and Ornamental Entomology Lab at Clemson University, learns molecular skills in the lab at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center. (Photo by Gautam Saripalli, Ph.D.)

Yet, over time, the station began to offer me something I had never expected: clarity.

Without the campus noise, I learned to focus on my work. I could carefully plan experiments, analyze data, and write without interruption. What first felt like isolation became a productive space. For the first time, I realized that stepping away from the crowd could help me hear my own thoughts.

Research With Real Impact

During my first year at PDREC, a new invasive pest, the two-spot cotton leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula), began appearing in ornamental hibiscus systems across the region. Growers were concerned about the plant damage, delayed shipments, and possible regulatory actions. My conversations with growers changed the way I understood invasive species. I saw firsthand how a single insect could disrupt businesses and threaten entire production systems. Being located at the station placed me close to the problem itself. I could visit growers quickly, observe the damage firsthand, and better understand the urgency of their concerns. That proximity, combined with the station’s focused environment, sped up my work.

Although the station was geographically isolated, I was not working alone. My lab was based there, and other graduate students worked alongside me. This new environment showed me that impactful research grows through teamwork and shared expertise. My lab members openly exchanged ideas, reviewed experimental plans, and worked together to overcome research challenges.

This work resulted in three research publications through the Turf and Ornamental Entomology Lab’s team efforts, published in the Journal of Applied Entomology, Arthropod Management Tests, and Insects. I also helped develop a field guide on this new invasive species for growers, published inGrowerTalk.

Members of the Turf and Ornamental Entomology Lab at Clemson University celebrate their recent publications on a new invasive species, the two-spot cotton leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula). Pictured left to right: Nisha Yadav, Peilin Tan, Shawn Celeste Chandler , Powlomee Mondal, Zee Ahmed, and Bishop Webb Ridenhour. (Photo by Zee Ahmed, Ph.D.)

Growing Beyond the Laboratory

Over time, the environment helped me focus on my research and recognize progress through small, steady steps. I learned to organize my time, make independent decisions, and remain patient when experiments did not proceed as expected. Careful planning and learning from setbacks became more important than simply completing tasks, which made me more mature and confident in my scientific judgment.

In the midst of fast-paced research to study a new invasive insect pest, the two-spot cotton leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula) (a), Ph.D. student Nisha Yadav practices yoga for mental and physical health (b).: TSCL (Photo:), b. Yoga to combat TSCL at PDREC. (Leafhopper photo by Nisha Yadav, Peilin Tan, and Zee Ahmed, Ph.D.; yoga photo by Jyoti Kakati, Ph.D.)

Over the next year and a half, this focused approach enabled me to conduct field experiments and insecticide trials, publish research, present at conferences, and communicate findings to growers and extension agents. Poster awards, travel grants, and recognition from the South Carolina Entomological Society were encouraging, but the greater value was understanding how consistent work could produce useful scientific outcomes.

Because professional connections did not form automatically off campus, I became more involved in outreach, scientific events, and student organizations with other lab members. Serving as secretary for two graduate student associations, captaining the Entomology Games team, and volunteering at outreach events strengthened my leadership and communication skills. This experience taught me that an isolated setting could support both scientific independence and meaningful engagement with the wider community.

Finding Community in Quiet

One of the greatest surprises was the sense of community I found at the station. The small group of graduate students quickly became a support system. We shared meals, celebrated birthdays, and cheered each other through long field days. The station became a small island of people who understood the same challenges and celebrated the same victories.

Student get-togethers create a sense of community at Clemson University’s Pee Dee Research and Education Center. (Photo by Gaganjeet Kalra)

Learning Balance and Independence

Living at the station also transformed my personal life. Without a gym, surrounded by open fields and forests, I began running outdoors and practicing yoga to stay grounded. I learned to appreciate the wildlife around me: deer crossing at sunrise, insects becoming part of everyday life rather than simply research subjects. The connection between nature and my work became far more personal. I also learned skills I had never expected to develop. Before graduate school, I had always walked or biked everywhere.

At the station, I had to learn how to drive. Eventually, I found myself driving large field trucks across research plots with confidence. What once felt intimidating became a symbol of independence. It reminded me that growth often begins the moment we decide to face something that scares us.

The Place That Shaped Me

Graduate housing stands beside research fields and woods at Clemson University’s Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence, South Carolina. (Photo by Nisha Yadav)

I always knew failure comes with the territory in science, but the station changed how I worked through it. On a busy campus, it is easy to get caught up in the rush and push a mistake aside. At PDREC, the quiet makes you face it right away. When something goes wrong, you slow down, look at the problem clearly, and fix it with intention. That kind of space is rare in graduate school. Being out here feels like being on an island, and that isolation helps you focus in a way most students never get to experience. It teaches you to handle setbacks with patience and to turn them into real progress. It is a lesson I would share with any student. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your science is to step away from the noise and let quiet help you think.

Looking back, the place I once feared became the place that shaped me most. This taught me resilience, independence and discipline. The station and my lab gave me the environment to publish, lead, learn, and grow not only as a researcher but also as a person.

What once felt like a hardship eventually became the stepping stone that pushed me forward.

Nisha Yadav is a Ph.D. student in the Turf and Ornamental Entomology Lab at Clemson University, conducting research on the biological control of invasive insect pests. Email: [email protected].

Yadav portrait photo by Jonathan Windham.