CALS Connection Winter 2019-2020
"Florida Youth Institute: Lifelong Impacts"
By Zoe Bowden, agricultural education and communication master’s student
Published December 10, 2019
Over the past four summers, rising high school juniors and seniors have traveled to Gainesville to participate in the Florida Youth Institute (FYI). The week-long program introduces participants to life as a University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) student while they explore issues and practices in agriculture, natural resources and life sciences, as well as their relationship to global food security.
For the duration of the week, participants live in campus housing, visit a variety of UF/IFAS departments and local agricultural organizations, engage in hands-on learning activities and present solutions to international food insecurity issues.
The program is sponsored by CALS, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and The World Food Prize. All participants are named Borlaug Scholars, making them eligible for prestigious internships with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Selected students attend the Global Youth Institute during the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa, to participate in roundtable discussions with global leaders about food security issues.
Olivia Doyle, an alumna from the inaugural FYI in 2016, considers the experience to have been pivotal in guiding her academic focus and her career goals. As a dual-enrolled high school student, Doyle had started coursework prior to attending UF. She initially wanted to pursue a teaching career in agricultural education, but switched her focus to be in science communications after attending FYI.
“Throughout my experience at FYI, I was exposed to numerous majors in UF CALS, had the opportunity to connect with current students in CALS, and visited places such as Florida Farm Bureau and the FDACS Division of Plant Industry (DPI). This exposed me to career paths I had never considered,” said Doyle, an agricultural education and communication senior. “Without FYI, I don’t know that I would have been exposed to science communication or made the change in my academic path.”
Caleb Reed, a food and resource economics major in CALS, had planned on attending a different university to study constitutional law, but his experience at FYI motivated him to attend UF and pursue a career in agricultural and natural resource policy.
“The most memorable experience as both a participant and counselor was undoubtedly the poverty dinner activity,” Reed said. “It first sparked my passion for global food insecurity and reaffirmed my decision to pursue a career related to the issue.”
The poverty dinner activity is an interactive teaching demonstration that develops awareness of global poverty, food distribution, and scarcity. Participants are divided into income level groups and a meal is served in proportion to the way food is distributed across the world. The experience encourages a deeper understanding of the disparity of global food and wealth distribution.
“I valued this aspect of the Florida Youth Institute because it allows the students to spend a few moments facing similar situations to many around the planet,” Reed said. “The presenters connect the income groups to real-life stories of individuals around the world. This reflective moment for the students in attendance provides such valuable information and creates authentic emotion for issues facing our society.”
As participants in FYI, Doyle and Reed learned about the land-grant mission, animal agricultural production, careers in entomology, agricultural policy and law, and current research through the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). Participants toured the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center – Suwannee Valley where agricultural best management practices are developed.
Representatives from The World Food Prize engaged participants in hands-on activities that demonstrated how all of these components play a part in the community and in global efforts to combat food insecurity.
Both Doyle and Reed returned to FYI as counselors. They knew how valuable the experience was and wished to be a part of helping others learn and grow as well.
“I decided to come back to FYI to serve as a counselor because of the impact my counselors had on me during my participation in the program,” Reed said. “I developed relationships with many and still consider them mentors. I wanted the opportunity to return the gift of mentorship. I also hoped to encourage the student participants to attend the University of Florida and pursue a career in agricultural and life sciences, ultimately igniting the spark of urgency to eradicate poverty and food insecurity.”
Beyond guiding academic areas of interest, Doyle said her involvement with FYI built her professional network and allowed her to gain an internship with FDACS DPI as an information specialist.
“Not only has my time at FDACS DPI allowed me to expand my knowledge and skill within agricultural communications, but it has given me an opportunity to get direct experience as an undergraduate student with what I hope to do as a career. Florida Youth Institute has opened numerous doors for me and given me tools that will be helpful in the future,” Doyle said.
To learn more about the Florida Youth Institute visit the CALS website. Applications will open in January 2020.