An all-expense-paid, eight-week hands-on experience, the prestigious Borlaug-Ruan International Internship provides exceptional high school students the opportunity to work with world renowned scientists and policymakers at leading research centers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
In the Summer of 2012, twenty-one interns were selected to travel to Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan, Tanzania, and Turkey to get a firsthand view of pressing food security and nutritional problems in poverty-stricken areas and take part in ground-breaking field and laboratory-based research.
Each intern develops a research report documenting their personal experiences and the outcomes of their research projects. To read their research papers, select the name of a Borlaug-Ruan Intern below.

Jessica Blosberg
Shoreview, MN
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in Beijing, CHINA
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Lauren Brewer
Memphis, TN
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in Beijing, CHINA
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Meredith Bruster
Bettendorf, IA
The World Vegetable Center (AVRDC) Regional Center for South Asia in Patancheru, INDIA
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Lucy Duan
Ithaca, NY
Brazilian Corporation of Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA) in Londrina, BRAZIL
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Caitlynn Fortner
Dalton, GA
Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company Limited (Mahyco) in Jalna, INDIA
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Rachel Ganson
Geneseo, IL
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Patancheru, INDIA
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Michaela Hoffelmeyer
Winterset, IA
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, PHILIPPINES
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Mohit Jain
Omaha, NE
Peking University in Beijing, CHINA
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Sarah Kunch
Fort Madison, IA
International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima, PERU
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Lucy Lagoze
Ithaca, NY
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA
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Peter Lambert
College Station, TX
China National Hybrid Rice Research & Development Center (CNHRRDC) in
Changsha, CHINA
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Michelle Laterrade
Ponchatoula, LA
The World Vegetable Center (AVRDC) in Tainan, TAIWAN
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Francesca Lubecki-Wilde
Iowa City, IA
Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD) in Gurgaon, INDIA
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Connor Ludwig
Breda, IA
China Agricultural University (CAU) in Beijing, CHINA
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Blake McGhghy
Keokuk, IA
M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in Chennai, INDIA
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Rachel Mentzer
Oberlin, OH
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) in Dhaka, BANGLADESH
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Elizabeth Mueller
Waukee, IA
Earth University in Guacimo, COSTA RICA
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Tessa Ries
Hastings, MN
International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Ankara, TURKEY
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Karl Sadkowski
Cedar Falls, IA
The World Vegetable Center (AVRDC) Regional Center for Africa in Arusha, TANZANIA
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Sam Schulte
West Des Moines, IA
International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in El Batán, MEXICO
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Stephanie Wenclawski
Cedar Rapids, IA
African Insect Science for Food and Health (ICIPE) in Nairobi, KENYA
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