The 2025 Florida Youth Institute, hosted by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences with support from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, was held July 6-12 and July 13-18. CALS welcomed nearly 50 high school juniors and seniors for two sessions of the weeklong program. During the course of the program, participants connected with other students, local leaders and experts on global challenges to identify solutions related to food security and poverty and improve their research on solving these challenges.

Participants also engaged in hands-on activities, visited indoor and outdoor laboratories and other on and off-campus facilities, and were challenged to think about how different facets of agriculture and natural resources contribute to solutions for a more food-secure world. Some of the UF/IFAS facilities the participants visited included the Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, the North Florida Research and Education Center, and department visits in CALS.

Prior to the first day of FYI, each participant was required to submit a research paper, which they present to a panel of experts during their week of FYI. Based on the research and presentation, students can be selected to represent Florida at the Global Youth Institute held later this year in Des Moines, Iowa. The following participants were selected to represent as the Florida delegation:

• Jaiden Anderson
• Emily Carreras
• Alyx Cunningham
• Kiera Martin
• Maria Matos
• Leonardo Oliveira

Upon completion of the program, all participants were also recognized by the World Food Prize Foundation as Borlaug scholars, named after Dr. Norman Borlaug, a pioneer in generating solutions for global food security and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. As a Borlaug scholar, students are eligible for specific internships and opportunities once they enroll in college.

In addition, based on their engagement throughout the program, six participants were offered a scholarship to cover a portion of tuition, should they choose to attend the University of Florida and major in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences:

• Ella Benson
• Stuart Cook
• Alyx Cunningham
• Astrid Florean
• Madelynn Harrison
• Savannah Schellenberg

FYI exposes high school students to careers in agriculture and inspires them to make a difference in their local and global communities to enact change toward a more food-secure world.

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