The prestigious USDA Wallace-Carver Fellowship offers the most promising college students in America the opportunity to collaborate with world-renowned scientists, policymakers and public servants through paid fellowships with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In the summer of 2021, eleven fellows were remotely 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.
Zaira Adams "The purpose of my internship was to find a way to increase the global consumption of fruits and vegetables. This topic matters, because it will help reduce health and nutrition problems and limit food waste and loss." Zaira's Video |
Eli Arbogast "I spent this summer exploring the question: do existing ways of measuring the amount of carbon in the soil measure accurately? This is really important to the field of soil science as well as to the general evaluation of climate change because we need to know whether our ways of thinking about carbon fixation in the soil are correct. Agriculture as a field is going to be critical to responding to climate change in the coming decades, and therefore incorrect measurements could have disastrous implications for how we respond and how we are impacted by climate change." Eli's Video |
Allison Chhay "I analyzed collection data on clonal and vegetable crop collections using R and SQL, and updated the USDA-ARS PGRU website with interactive charts, maps, and infographics to measure impacts and increase scientific communication." Allison's Video |
Halee Fisher "I worked for the Cochran Program at the Foreign Agriculture Service, providing short term training opportunities to agricultural professionals across the globe." Halee's Video |
Mirai Inaoka "I researched manure application certification regulations in all 50 states to determine geographical patterns for farmers wanting to participate in nutrient recycling programs." Mirai's Video |
Arush Iyer "I worked at the Foreign Agriculture Service on the Cochran Fellowship Program, which provides industry leaders and government officials from foreign countries with hands-on training in agriculture-related topics." Arush's Video |
Gretchen Kuck "Working with the Embassy in Turkey, I helped tackle food system challenges in real time - covering trade policy, economics, water security, biotechnology, and governance to development programs and the coordination of natural disaster responses - to benefit both American farmers and ranchers and food security and stability in Central Asia." Gretchen's Video |
Zachary Overton "I used soil temperature data to develop climatology models, helping to determine climate changes over time across the midwest U.S." |
Samantha Rivera "I analyzed microbial communities in anaerobically disinfested soils alongside an amazing team at USDA ARS." Samantha's Video |
Diva Shrivastava
|
Rachel Stern "I researched the DNA of select fungi and corn pathogens, which will help not only the chickens but also humans who rely heavily on maize in their diet." Rachel's Video |