Priscilla Trinh joins World Food Prize Foundation’s Council of Advisors

The University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) is proud to share that Priscilla Trinh, an undergraduate student majoring in Sustainable Systems Management with minors in Food Systems and Management, has been appointed as a youth member to the esteemed World Food Prize Foundation’s Council of Advisors. 

The council is composed of distinguished leaders and experts who provide the Foundation Board and President Barbara Stinson with insights and advice on advancing the mission of the organization and Dr. Norman Borlaug’s vision for the World Food Prize Foundation. 

Trinh also is a co-coordinator of the Minnesota Youth Institute (MNYI), which engages high school students in solving local and global hunger issues. It is an annual interactive day-long program that brings teens from across the state to CFANS for an immersive science experience while connecting with research and industry leaders. MNYI serves as a gateway to the World Food Prize Symposium and global travel, paid internships and a scholarship to the University of Minnesota. 

Minnesota students at Global Youth Institute
In May 2021, 100 high school students from 35 schools across Minnesota attended MNYI. Eighteen of those students became delegates to the three-day Global Youth Institute in October in Des Moines, Iowa. During the event, they interacted with Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates and discussed pressing food security and agricultural issues with international experts. The student delegates also presented and discussed their findings with international experts and their peers, connected with other students from around the world, toured cutting-edge industrial and research facilities, and took part in symposium discussions with global leaders in science, industry, and policy.

Following are some of the MNYI GYI delegate students’ quotes about what they plan to do after high school:

• “I am interested in environmental science, policy, and law.” 
• “I want to become an agricultural engineer and come up with new, innovative solutions to agricultural related issues.” 
• “I am planning to go to the University of Minnesota and I will be in their CFANS program, working in the animal science area. The end goal is to become a veterinarian.”
• “I plan to attend college to obtain a bachelor’s degree in applied economics.”
• “I am interested in a career in economics focusing on how people, the earth, and policy intersect. Beyond large scale policy, I am focused on building community level efforts to shape our world to be more sustainable and equitable.” 
• “I am interested in advocating for policy at the local and state level.” 

CFANS is delighted to see these dynamic youth follow in Trinh’s footsteps, and looks forward to the great things they’ll do as they follow their dreams through high school and beyond.