From coffee beans to global impact: How one student's passion for agriculture took root

In high school, there were few options to academically engage with my interest in plants. As a result, I explored my passion outside of the classroom, through working, volunteering, and reading books and articles about plants. Hearing about the Minnesota Youth Institute (MNYI), a program where I could write and present a paper focusing on a subject important to me, I was delighted.

I decided to study coffee production in Brazil. Researching this subject opened my eyes to the unique problems this crop faces due to climate change, from adaptation to specific climatic conditions to low genetic diversity. It was also interesting to learn more about different solutions to this issue and their unique benefits and drawbacks. Writing the paper for MNYI led me to a new, interesting topic that I previously hadn’t thought much about. I enjoyed learning about coffee so much that I signed up for the classes Coffee from the Ground Up and Insects, Microbes, and Plants: Ecology of Pest Management to continue learning about coffee.

The MNYI event, held in May at the University of Minnesota, allowed me to interact with other students interested in agriculture and visit plants in the immersion experience. The round table presentation allowed our group to practice public speaking skills and have a meaningful discussion on the similarities of our food security solutions. During the immersion experience, I seized the opportunity to visit unique plant species in the University’s conservatory and peer at plant disease samples under a microscope. Overall, the MNYI experience provided a fun and engaging way for me and for other students with similar interests to gain skills, while also opening doors to the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship and Wallace-Carver Fellowship.

After MNYI, I was shocked by an invitation to interview for selection to the Global Youth Institute in Iowa. When I was told that I, and a handful of other students, were chosen to attend this special event, I felt both humbled and grateful to be chosen. Over the summer, I reworked my original essay by expanding on solutions and removing ideas that weren’t relevant. Since most of my high school writing assignments were timed essays, I appreciated the chance to hone my editing skills.

Once at the conference, I experienced interesting activities, along with dually thought-provoking and inspiring speeches. I realized that my paper on coffee delved into some of the most pressing problems in agriculture: climate change and loss of crop genetic diversity. While these are very serious issues, I’m left hopeful by the work of World Food Prize laureates Geoffery Hawtin and Cary Fowler to save priceless genetic material through gene banks.

Going forward, I know I’ll think fondly of my experience with MNYI and GYI for reaffirming my dream of studying plants. I want to thank the University of Minnesota for hosting MNYI, and for encouraging interested students to further study their interest in food security.