PRINCESS ANNE, MD-(September 29, 2020)-Three Delmarva high school students will represent the Maryland Youth Institute as delegates to the 2020 World Food Prize Global Youth Institute next month.
The recipients were among 30 students who submitted essays on a global agricultural issue and gave virtual presentations in the spring as part of the Maryland Youth Institute hosted by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Winners were recently chosen.
Parkside High School’s Anna Smith joined Snow Hill High School’s Rylee Dean and Lauren Moses in the honor. Amaya Johnson-Fleming of Gwynn Park High School in Brandywine and Uchechi Mba of Century High School in Sykesville were also selected as Maryland delegates.
“The ability to feed and sustain the rising population of the world has become a pressing issue,” said Stephon Fitzpatrick, coordinator for the Maryland Youth Institute and coordinator for recruitment, retention and experiential learning in UMES’ School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences. “Recruiting students for the Maryland Youth Institute and the World Food Prize, is a great opportunity to teach students the importance of food security on a global scale.”
Students, he said, interact with international experts dealing with food security, agricultural science and policy through workshops to “discuss possible solutions to improving the quality, quantity and availability of food in the world.” UMES’ School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, he said, is proud to continue to serve as an advocate for the group’s mission and encourage young minds to consider agriculture and related sciences as a career.”
Normally a three-day event held each year in Des Moines, Iowa, this year’s Global Youth Institute will invite delegates to participate in virtual workshops and student roundtable discussions October 14-16 and a youth web series October 20-23 due to the pandemic, Fitzpatrick said.
Participation in the World Food Prize Foundation’s Global Youth Institute is required for students to be eligible to apply for the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship. Named for the founder of the World Food Prize, Dr. Norman Borlaug, the eight-week, all-expense paid internship allows recipients the opportunity to work with scientists and policymakers at leading research centers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Borlaug received the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for a “lifetime of work to feed a hungry world.”
Maryland is one of 23 U.S. states and territories, in addition to the Netherlands and Honduras, which host youth institutes for the World Food Prize Foundation.
For more information on the Maryland Youth Institute, Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) and other youth agricultural programs at UMES, contact Fitzpatrick at sfitzpatrick@umes.edu.
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications and media associate, School of Agricultural & Natural Sciences, 410-621-3850, gcstephens@umes.edu.
