Despite living 1,500 miles away from her hometown and alma mater, Elizabeth Smith maintains a close connection to Las Cruces and NMSU.
After graduating from NMSU with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental science, Smith settled in Pullman, Washington, to work for a company now called Meter Group, a global manufacturer of precision instruments, software and services for food production, environmental research, crop science, indoor cultivation and other areas.
“I started as an application specialist, providing tech support, and then I became a product manager for a software and hardware system called Zentra,” she said. “Now, I provide high-end product support, serve as the voice of the customer for our engineers and make sure our customer needs are understood as we develop new products.”
As a college student, Smith wanted to study an area that was impactful and would allow her to interact with the world. That desire led her to the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, where she thrived as an environmental science major in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences.
Smith marked her time at NMSU by staying active in student organizations and supporting various research projects. Smith’s thesis work centered on identifying cost-effective dust abatement strategies.
After completing her master’s degree, Smith worked as a coordinator in the Extension Plant Sciences Viticulture Program. In this role, she helped expand a network of weather stations at commercial vineyards in New Mexico. This work required her to meet with vineyard owners throughout the state and discuss the benefits of installing weather stations on their properties. The stations measured atmospheric changes and tracked local variability at each site.
“My time at NMSU allowed me to stand on my toes,” she said. “I was able to defend my thesis, challenge ideas, meet new people, be independent and work on different projects – all of which I bring to my current job.”
Today, Smith stays connected her mentors and colleagues from NMSU, including her former adviser, New Mexico State Climatologist Dave DuBois.
“I like to talk with NMSU professors as they’re working on studies – even if they’re not using our equipment – I love keeping up with them and seeing what they’re doing,” she said, adding, “Everyone I came across at NMSU wanted me to do great in the world, and I appreciated that every step of the way.”
A version of this story first published in the fall 2023 issue of ACES Magazine. For more stories, visit nmsu.news/aces-magazine-fall-2023.