Celina Gómez, associate professor of horticulture and landscape architecture, has seen the growth of the Zamorano–Purdue community firsthand. She thinks there were 15 Zamorano alumni when she attended Purdue; now, as a faculty member, she’s one of 44.

She began her PhD studies at Purdue in 2011, working with advisor Cary Mitchell, professor of horticulture and landscape architecture, to evaluate the use of LEDs for greenhouse plant production. Settling into Purdue, Gómez grew close to other Zamorano graduates. “I didn’t have any Zamorano connections when I got to Purdue, but there were a bunch of alumni here,” she says. “We were a really nice group of friends who did everything together.”

After completing her graduate studies and spending some time working and traveling, Gómez joined the University of Florida faculty. There, she spent six years researching controlled environments and advising graduate students and interns, many of whom were Zamorano alumni.

In 2022, Gómez returned to Purdue to join the faculty. She is currently researching plant propagation in controlled environments and compact vegetable gardening. Gómez invited her student Sofía Gómez, also a Zamorano alumna, to make the move from Florida and join her lab.

Purdue’s Zamorano community continues to grow, Celina Gómez says. “Recently, the Zamorano students hosted a cookout, and there were about 40 people,” she says. “It's probably twice as big as it was when I was a student.”

The network of faculty at Purdue has also expanded. “When I was a student, there were no Zamorano faculty at Purdue,” Gómez says. Now she is one of four Zamorano alumni in faculty or staff positions at Purdue.  

“It's a big community, and I think it's because Zamorano students demonstrate that they're hard workers,” Gómez says. “They leave a good impression on faculty here at Purdue, and faculty open the doors to more Zamorano alumni.”