Top Collegiate Students Conclude Prestigious World Food Prize USDA Wallace-Carver Fellowships in Washington, D.C.

17 August 2023, Washington: The World Food Prize Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) welcomed 13 exceptional collegiate students to Washington, D.C., last week to celebrate the culmination of their summer-long internships as Wallace-Carver Fellows. 

Earlier this summer the Foundation selected 13 students for the prestigious USDA Wallace-Carver Fellowship. Students collaborated with world-renowned scientists and policymakers through paid fellowships at leading USDA research centers and offices across the country. 

“The Wallace-Carver Fellowship provides unparalleled research opportunities for university students to explore agricultural issues and become leaders and innovators,” said Ambassador Terry Branstad, President, World Food Prize Foundation. “I am incredibly proud of this group of exceptional students, the first in my tenure. This program inspires them to pursue careers in food, agriculture and science.”

Last week the Fellows participated in the Washington Leadership Symposium, hosted by USDA. While attending the Symposium, students participated in briefings, tours and discussions with key government and nongovernmental organization leaders. 

USDA and the World Food Prize Foundation partnered to create the USDA Wallace-Carver Fellowship in 2011. Named for American agriculture leaders George Washington Carver and Henry A. Wallace, the Wallace-Carver Fellowship seeks to inspire and train agricultural leaders and scholars.

Since the creation of the Fellowship, 275 students from 110 universities and colleges have been employed by the program. Over 97 percent of fellows have pursued degrees in related disciplines, and 88 percent remain employed in critical fields relevant to science, agriculture and nutrition. 

The 2023 Wallace-Carver Fellows are a distinguished group of outstanding young leaders: 

• Arron Chang | Cornell University | Environmental Engineering | Ithaca, NY
  Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research | ARS | Columbia, MO
• Chai-Ai Chow | The Ohio State University | Biological Sciences | Dublin, OH
  Crop Production & Pest Control Research | ARS | West Lafayette, IN
• Lauren Chuhta | Cornell University | Global Development | Cambridge, NY
  USDA Farmers Market | AMS | Washington, DC
• Sam Fisher | University of Minnesota – Twin Cities | Computer Engineering | Eagan, MN
  Cereal Disease | ARS | St. Paul, MN
• Dylan Haynes | University of Minnesota – Twin Cities | Animal Science | Grand Rapids, MN
  Plant Science Research | ARS | St. Paul, MN
• Emerald Izuakor | University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill | Nutrition & Hispanic Linguistics | Raleigh, NC
  USDA Farmers Market | AMS Washington, DC
• Flora Kafunda | Iowa State University | Biological Engineering | Ames, IA
  Water Quality and Ecology Research | ARS | Oxford, MS
• Neha Kashyap | Texas A&M University Master of International Affairs | International Development & Economic Policy | Round Rock, TX
  Office of the Secretary | OSEC | Washington, DC
• Danielle McConnell | University of Chicago | Molecular Engineering, Biochemistry, & Bioinformatics | Columbus, MS
  Sugarcane Production Research | ARS | Canal Point, FL
• Ben Quint | Cornell University | Global Development | Pittsburgh, PA
  Delta Water Management Research | ARS | Jonesboro, AR
• Victor Wall | University of California – Davis International | Agricultural Development | Atlanta, GA
  Cereal Crops Research | ARS | Madison, WI
• Kristen Watkins | Middlebury College | Environmental Policy | Austin, MN
  Resource and Rural Economics | ERS | Kansas City, MO
• Sophia Wu | University of Maryland – College Park | Computer Science | Downingtown, PA
  Grassland, Water, and Soil Research | ARS | Temple, TX

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