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WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 17 WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 17 WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 17 opportunity arose for Jansky to spend a semester on a marine biology research ship in the Caribbean. At one point, the ship landed on Roatán, an island off the northern coast of Honduras. The small village they were docked at had a village garden, and while strolling through it, Jansky had a bit of an epiphany. "As I was walking through there," she recalls, "I thought, 'This is where I belong.' After all that time being at sea, that just felt like it." The rest, as they say, is history. Jansky returned to Stevens Point with a renewed vision of the direction she wanted her life to take. Her affinity for genetic study and her desire to work doing some kind of applied plant science naturally led her into the field of plant breeding. In quick succession, she finished her biology degree at Stevens Point, received master's and doctorate degrees in plant breeding and genetics from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and began her career with a faculty position in North Dakota State University's potato breeding program. After five years at NDSU, she returned to Stevens Point, this time in a teaching position. When school was not in session, Jansky filled her time working with other scientists on research projects. "I always felt pulled to the research world," says Jansky. "I love teaching. It was a great experience for me, but I always felt like I should be doing research." In 2004, after 14 years teaching at Stevens Point, Jansky was offered the chance to run the germplasm enhancement lab in Madison, and she jumped at the opportunity. The potato industry is the better for it. The stated mission of Jansky's lab is three-fold: 1. Evaluate wild and cultivated potato relatives for traits of interest to scientists and the potato industry; 2. Introgress those traits into adapted germplasm for ease of use; 3. Develop germplasm resources for potato breeding and genetics programs.