 Last Monday, the sixth annual World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute brought together 299 students from 131 high schools at Iowa State University to explore critical issues related to global food security and discover academic and career paths in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The Iowa Youth Institute has now reached over 64 percent of all Iowa high schools since its inauguration in 2011, and has been referred to as the most unique and innovative event to inspire Iowa high school students to focus on global issues and opportunities in STEM.
Mentored by Mary K. Overholtzer, students from Winterset High School in Winterset participated this year. Mikaela Engnell researched water scarcity in Ethiopia and was selected to attend the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute. Kacie Cowman researched human diseases in Brazil; and Daniel Howell researched climate volatility in Mongolia.
Governor Terry Branstad, as the luncheon speaker, spoke to the students about the importance of feeding the growing population. “I truly believe that there just may be one of you here today who will be able to follow in Norman Borlaug’s footsteps, who will make a similar breakthrough achievement, one that will help us meet the challenge of feeding the 9 billion people who will soon be on our planet. For you students, it is your generation that must meet this challenge—which is perhaps the greatest challenge agriculture has ever faced.”
In order to participate, each student is required to write a research paper identifying a key issue - such as environmental volatility, nutrition, water scarcity or gender inequality - that impacts hunger in a developing country. They will then propose a solution and present their findings to a panel of peers and experts at the one-day event.
More information is available at www.worldfoodprize.org/iowayouth.
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