Agricultural leadership, education, and communications students (left to right) McKenzie Mason, Kendall Beard, and Haley Schmalle. Photo courtesy of Tyler Granberry.

From January 30 to February 1, three agricultural leadership, education, and communications students participated in Model USDA, an immersive program that provides students with problem-based learning experiences in law and public policy.

Hosted by Arizona State University’s Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems on their campus in Tempe, Arizona, 191 students representing 31 universities across the country took advantage of this valuable professional development opportunity.

During the program, students took on the roles of USDA administrators, staff, and stakeholders in scenarios based on real-world challenges facing agriculture, food, and natural resources. Each group was tasked with addressing an issue by developing policy through collaboration. Additionally, each student delivered an open-forum speech on their issue, participated in a panel discussion with former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture Dan Glickman and Ann Veneman, and engaged with policy experts across the agriculture, food, and natural resources industries.

The students who attended Model USDA include:

• McKenzie Mason – graduate student in agricultural leadership, education, and communications; participated in the Rural Development scenario as the USDA Rural Development Under Secretary.
• Kendall Beard – junior agricultural leadership, education, and communications student; participated in the School Nutrition scenario as the Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
• Haley Schmalle – sophomore agricultural leadership, education, and communications student; participated in the Rural Development scenario as the Policy Director for the Center for Rural Affairs

Mason was recognized as one of the “Standout Students” of the event, selected by her peers for her hard work and leadership at Model USDA.

The students received financial support to attend Model USDA by the NEXTGeneration Inclusion Consortium, a USDA NIFA grant-funded project led by Tennessee State University (NIFA Grant #2023-70440-40157). Tyler Granberry, assistant professor of agricultural education, leads a UT Institute of Agriculture sub-award on the project, which covered all travel expenses for the participating students.

Opportunities like Model USDA are invaluable for students seeking to grow professionally and apply classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios.