Going Places

Live Out Loud

My most unusual talent is public speaking and meeting new people, I love it! Like most other students at OSU, I like to hike. I am very passionate about SOIL! I can also do the worm (it is a dance move).

The Future is Food

I chose Agricultural Sciences as a major because I have always liked to cook and, of course, to eat! Through the Future Farmers of America chapter at my high school, I learned the important role that agriculture plays in the lives of...well, every living thing. We would not exist without the food and fiber that keeps us going. My minors in Soil Science, Comparative International Agriculture, and Spanish really found me. My curiosity for all things related to agriculture and my passion for people have collided in this intersection of the agricultural industry. With the knowledge I gain from this degree I hope to tackle some of the fastest-growing problems not only in the US, but around the world: high obesity and low nutrition rates, gender and racial inequality, and climate change, just to name a few.

Embracing the Unknown

I just returned from studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain. The most valuable part about spending a whole term out of country, for me, has been truly getting a grasp of the language. It is easier to learn a new language when you are also learning about the history, culture, and everyday life of the people that speak it. It was fun to be so uncomfortable! Meeting new people, putting myself out there, making mistakes, and learning from them all while being more than 5,000 miles from home has forced me to grow in ways that I never thought I could.

In The Club

I found the International Agriculture Club in my second year at Oregon State. I heard about it from my advisor, Dawn Moyer, and a friend in class. It was a suspiciously perfect niche for me. In the spring of 2018 I went to my first National Convention of the larger affiliation of the club (the International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences is a mouthful, so we call it IAAS). At that convention I was elected to be the National Director, which means I would hold the National Convention in 2019 at OSU. I gained hands-on experience running a committee with members all over the US. I coordinated with Corvallis-local agriculturalists, fisheries and fish research labs, and breweries to create a well-rounded, educational conference that highlighted agriculture from the PNW. In April of 2019 I saw all of that work come to life and it is still my most prized possession on my resume--I even obtained credits for it toward my degree.

Going With the Grain

In the next year I will have earned my B.S. in Agricultural Sciences and in an ideal world I'll have been able to mold my long list of interests into a masters degree in Food Science and Technology in order to make whole-grains more available to minority communities. If in five years I've accomplished that, I hope to work for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) or contribute to achieving the FAO's Sustainable Development Goals in some other way.

It Can Be Done

College is hard! If anyone tells you anything different, they are lying. There are so many factors keeping students from success in today's education system, it may be easier to fail than succeed. However, OSU is made up of ethnic minorities, women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and other communities of people like you that have graduated, that are going through it, and will continue to overcome the odds and obtain degrees! There are many resources on campus put in place to help you find those communities. And if you, for some reason can't find them, please, come find me.

For further reading, check out Angel's work in Buckteeth Magazine, food writing you can sink your teeth into!