From a young age, Stefany Naranjo knew she wanted to play an active part in the fight against hunger.
This past summer, she tackled that lofty goal through an internship in the U.S. Virgin Islands with Iowa State University鈥檚 .
Naranjo is a senior in global resource systems and agricultural and life sciences education at Iowa State with an option in agriculture communications.
Her internship included creating and maintaining community gardens and helping churches feed the hungry. She was also involved in a long-term National Park Service project to restore shoreline plants impacted by hurricanes. Along with helping propagate mandrakes and other hardy native species that help shelter the island鈥檚 human and wildlife inhabitants, she created lesson plans to teach island youth about the plants and their benefits.
She first became aware of serious problems with food insecurity when she was in high school in Belmond, Iowa. She started a community food drive, then she had the chance to attend the Iowa Youth Institute and later served as a group leader for the World Food Prize.
These experiences 鈥渓aid the foundation for my career going forward,鈥� says Naranjo.
Ultimately, she sees herself working in underserved communities through urban agriculture, addressing issues such as food deserts.
Naranjo was recently selected to receive an Agricultural Communications Leadership Scholarship at Iowa State, which made it possible to accept the internship on St. John鈥檚 Island. The scholarship, established by Sorrel Brown, the first woman field agronomist hired by Iowa State University Extension, provides funding so students can 鈥渃hoose an internship based on the quality of the experience, not the size of the paycheck.鈥�
鈥淭his scholarship was created for outstanding, service-oriented students like Naranjo,鈥� says Howard Tyler, assistant dean for student services in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
鈥淚t has been a true joy to watch Stefany develop during her time at Iowa State,鈥� Tyler says. 鈥淪he entered our college as a first-generation transfer student in fall 2019, and despite the pandemic, the shift to remote learning and family financial challenges, she has thrived and continued to excel academically. Stefany has overcome every obstacle life has thrown at her, and is always an amazingly positive person.鈥�
Naranjo loved her time on the island and the chance to directly impact people鈥檚 lives.
鈥淏eing there made me even more appreciative of how well things work in the United States and our easy access to basic necessities,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful for the Sorrel Brown scholarship and other donors and ISU faculty and staff who support students in so many ways. I wouldn鈥檛 be here without them.鈥�
By: Ann Y. Robinson
Original story,