Search
Exceptional college students to work with leading scientists and policy makers nationwide to improve our food system
The World Food Prize Foundation and The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have selected 29 students from across the country for the prestigious Wallace-Carver Fellowship. This experience offers exceptional college students the opportunity to collaborate with world-renowned scientists and policymakers through paid summer fellowships at leading USDA research centers and offices across the United States.
“The Wallace-Carver Fellows program provides the opportunity for some of the most highly motivated young college students in America to have hands on experiences working with leading research scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to be inspired to pursue careers and future leadership positions in food and agricultural science,” said Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, President of the World Food Prize.
Fellows will be 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.
Today, 49 million Americans are food insecure and one in nine people on the planet go hungry each day. As the world’s population grows, food security remains a critical issue. During his tenure as Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack and Ambassador Quinn created the Wallace-Carver Fellowship to inspire the next generation of American scientific, agricultural, and humanitarian leaders. Over the past six years, 185 students have gone through the program.
The Wallace-Carver Fellowship culminates in a week-long, high-level leadership symposium at the USDA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., hosted by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. During the week, the Fellows will participate in a series of high-level briefings, tours and discussions around Washington DC with key government officials as well as congressional and humanitarian leaders engaged in the fight against hunger.
- Macy Alexander | Arkansas Tech University | Placement: ARS, Poultry Production and Product Safety Research Unit; Fayetteville, AR
- Christina Allen | The Ohio State University | Placement: ARS, National Animal Disease Center; Ames, IA
- Daria Clinkscales | Virginia State University | Placement: ARS, National Animal Disease Center; Ames, IA
- Rhiannon Cobb | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Placement: Foreign Agricultural Service; Washington, DC
- Josie Consier | University of Wisconsin-Platteville | Placement: ARS, Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit; Ames, IA
- Mariah Cox | The Ohio State University | Placement: ARS, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center; Grand Forks, ND
- Sol De Leon | St. Johns University | Placement: ARS, Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health; Ithaca, NY
- John Derry | Texas A&M University | Placement: ARS, National Clonal Germplasm Repository; Corvalis, OR
- Daria Dozier | Mercer University | Placement: ARS, Plant Gene Expression Center; Albany, CA
- Grant Gustafson | George Washington University | Placement: Economic Research Service; Washington DC
- Jane Hulse | The Ohio State University | Placement: ARS, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research; Peoria, IL
- Roddra Johnson | Wake Forest University | Placement: ARS, Sugarcane Production Research Unit; Canal Point, FL
- Jessica Kohntopp | University of Idaho | Placement: ARS, Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center; Fargo, ND
- Nishanth Krishnan | Yale University | Placement: ARS, U.S. National Poultry Research Center; Athens, GA
- Jordan Lehman | Earlham College | Placement: ARS, Aquatic Animal Health Research Unit; Auburn, AL
- Charlotte Lenkakitis | University of Iowa | Placement: ARS, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment; Ames, IA
- Fabian Leon | University of Kentucky | Placement: ARS, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment; Ames, IA
- Caleb Mathias | Ohio State University | Placement: ARS, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research; Peoria, IL
- Calah Mershon | Louisiana Tech University | Placement: ARS, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center; Grand Forks, ND
- Amaleah Mirti | University of Florida | Placement: ARS, Western Human Nutrition Research Center; Davis, CA
- Isaac Mirti | University of Florida | Placement: Foreign Agricultural Service; Washington DC
- Glen Morris | University of Minnesota Rochester | Placement: ARS National Agricultural Library; Beltsville MD
- Carrie O’Conner-Walker | University of Minnesota | Placement: ARS Soil and Water Management Research Unit; St. Paul, MN
- Holly Podliska | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Placement: ARS, Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center; Hilo, HI
- Sarmishtha Prathivadhi Bhayankaram | University of Rochester | Placement: ARS, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center; Grand Forks, ND
- Abigail Shew | University of Northern Iowa | Placement: Food Safety Inspection Service; Washington DC
- Isabella Smith | Rochester University of Technology, Mechanical Engineering | Placement: ARS, National Animal Disease Center; Ames, IA
- Morgan Smith | Iowa State University | Placement: ARS, National Animal Disease Center; Ames, IA
- Gillian Wilkins | Augustana University | Placement: ARS, Cereal Disease Lab; St. Paul, MN
For more information visit: www.worldfoodprize.org/usdafellows.
Press Contact:
Nicole Barreca, Director of Communications and Events
515.245.3735 (direct), 563.271.2995 (cell), or nbarreca@worldfoodprize.org