Home « Youth Programs « USDA Wallace-Carver Fellowship

USDA Wallace-Carver Fellowship

The prestigious Wallace-Carver Fellowship offers exceptional high school and college students the opportunity to collaborate with world-renowned scientists and policymakers through paid internships at leading USDA research centers and offices across the United States.

The fellows also participate in a high-level week-long Wallace-Carver Leadership Symposium at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington DC, hosted by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

Fulfilling the shared vision of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack and World Food Prize founder Dr. Norman Borlaug of inspiring the next generation of American scientific and humanitarian leaders, the United States Department of Agriculture and the World Food Prize Foundation partnered to create the Wallace-Carver Fellowship.

Named for Henry A. Wallace and George Washington Carver, two of the great American leaders in agricultural science and policy who made significant strides toward ending hunger in the 20th Century, the Wallace-Carver Fellowship seeks to educate, inspire and train the next generation of agricultural leaders, who will lead us in the 21st century.

In the Summer of 2014, thirty-three fellows were stationed at USDA research centers and field offices across the country to analyze agricultural and economic policy; assist in the management of food, nutrition and rural development programs; and take part in groundbreaking field and laboratory-based research.

“The Wallace-Carver Fellowship exposes the best young minds in agriculture to the wide variety of opportunities available to them through civil service. Their experiences as Fellows will prepare these exceptional young leaders to carry out the vital research and innovation we will need to address the challenge of feeding a growing global population.”

- U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack

For questions or further information please contact The World Food Prize Directors of National Education Programs, Keegan Kautzky: kkautzky@worldfoodprize.org , 515-341-7162 and Libby Crimmings: lcrimmings@worldfoodprize.org, 515-245-3706.


NOSA AKOL Binghamton High School Placement: ARS Robert W. Holley Research Center - Ithaca, NY "Working in a pest management facility has taught me to see certain aspects of my life completely different."	JESSICA BLOSBERG University of Minnesota Placement: ARS Plant Science Research Unit - St. Paul, MN "Working for the USDA has been exciting as I am learning what it means to be a plant disease researcher."	JORDAN COUGHLIN Rowan University Placement: ARS Plant Science Research Unit - Raleigh, NC "This internship has paved the way for a bright future and I plan to fully utilize it to make this world a better place."

LINDSAY DEMERS Virginia Tech University Placement: ARS Vegetable Laboratory - Charleston, SC "I can't express what it's like to wake up feeling like I'm saving the world or to be so overwhelmingly inspired."	LUCY DUAN Brown University Placement: ARS Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging - Boston, MA "The lessons I have learned through my experiences have given me a tenacious passion for making a real difference."	ALI IBRAHIM ELSADIQ Iowa State University Placement: ARS Plant Science Research Unit - Raleigh, NC "I feel so fortunate for this opportunity to follow my passion while also making a difference in the world."

CAITLYNN FORTNER University of Texas - Dallas Placement: ARS National Germplasm Repository for Citrus and Dates - Riverside, CA "I have enjoyed the Program because of the science I am learning, but even more so for the people I am meeting."	ZIXUAN "YEN YEN" GAO University of Pennsylvania Placement: Office of the Secretary - Washington, DC "This opportunity allowed me to gain insight into the pivotal role of agriculture and acquire invaluable skills."	RIVKAH GARDNER-FROLICK Rice University Placement: ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment - Ames, IA "Working with world-class scientists has been energizing and reinforced my commitment to a career in science."

BRANDON HANSON University of Minnesota Placement: ARS National Animal Disease Center - Ames, IA "Working for the USDA has been such a blessing in getting amazing experience in a research setting."	BROOK HOOVER Southeastern University Placement: ARS Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiological Research - Baton Rouge, LA "I have the honor of working under terrific scientists at a bee research center on colony collapse disorder."	QUINN INWARDS College of Southern Idaho Placement: ARS Watershed Management Research - Boise, ID "This has been an amazing experience getting to work with great people and some of the world's top scientists."

JEROME JACOBSEN Mahtomedi High School Placement: ARS U.S. Meat Animal Research Center - Clay Center, NE "The WC Fellowship has given me the chance to meet phenomenal, influential people working to improve the world."	ROHAN KANDEL Millard West High School Placement: ARS Grain, Forage, and Bioenergy Research Unit - Lincoln, NE "I've learned that no matter your age, there are always possibilities present to change the lives of millions."	DOWON KIM Princeton University Placement: Office of the Secretary - Washington, DC "Working at the USDA has shown me the profound yet overlooked impact of agriculture on lives around the globe."

SARAH KUNCH St. Louis University Placement: Food Safety and Inspection Service - Washington, DC "I realized the importance of food safety and the effect that USDA has on the lives of every American"	LUCY LAGOZE Pennsylvania State University Placement: ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management - University Park, PA "Working with the USDA-ARS has provided me with invaluable experience that will help guide me in the future."	DAKOTA LYDDON Des Moines Area Community College Placement: ARS Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit - Ames, IA "I will walk away with knowledge for the future, and an unmatched experience working alongside great people."

SEAN LYON Wheaton College Placement: Thad Cochran Southern Horticultural Laboratory - Poplarville, MS "WC fellowship has shown me what our responsibilities are as humans to make an impact on the world for the better."	VICTORIA MALOCH University of Arkansas Placement: Office of the Secretary- Washington, DC "It has been a privilege to work alongside Secretary Vilsack's team shaping the message of the USDA."	TARA MITTELBERG Northwestern University Placement: ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory - Oxford, MS "Working with the ARS has given me an amazing opportunity to fight food insecurity."

GRETCHEN MOHR St. Louis University Placement: National Agricultural Statistics Service "The WC Fellowship has inspired me to follow my passion and challenge me to work harder every day."	TESSA RIES University of Minnesota Placement: ARS U.S. Salinity Laboratory - Riverside, CA "It is eye-opening and exhilarating to be part of a research team that aims to make a difference."	SOPHIE ROBISON American University Placement: Foreign Agricultural Service - Washington, DC "Being a Wallace-Carver Fellow has taught me what it really means to be a hunger fighter."

ELIZABETH ROCHE Ohio State University Placement: ARS U.S. National Arboretum Floral and Nursery Plants Research Unit - Beltsville, MD "I am thankful I am able to research solutions to real world problems in agriculture and do something I love."	DOMINIQUE ROWINSKI College of William and Mary Placement: Office of the Secretary - Washington, DC "It has been enlightening to be part of the implementation of various White House initiatives."	PEARL SAWHNEY Grinnell College Placement: ARS National Animal Disease Center - Ames, IA "I have learned so many new scientific techniques and been able to apply knowledge from classes I have taken."

CAROLINE SHERLOW Purdue University Placement: ARS Crop Protection and Pest Control - West Lafayette, IN "The WC Fellowship is an invaluable opportunity I hope to someday use to make an impact in the world."	JACOB SOLAWETZ Washington University Placement: Economic Research Service - Washington, DC "I have been a part of large-scale economic research that have a direct impact on policy decisions."	VERONICA SONDERVAN North Springs Charter High School Placement: ARS Plant Germplasm Preservation Research Unit - Fort Collins, CO "I have had such an amazing experience working with one of the largest gene banks in the world!"

ANTHONY WENNDT Grinnell College Placement: ARS Crops Pathology and Genetics Research - Davis, CA "The world-changing insights I have gained have truly made a lasting impact on the science I undertake."	COLE WILHELMI University of North Carolina Placement: ARS Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research Unit - Hilo, HI	NICOLE WONG University of California - Berkeley Placement: ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center - Davis, CA "Being a WC Fellow has renewed my enthusiasm to learn and put everything I have into my research."

View Fellows by Year:
2014
2013
2012
2011