Where are you from? Wilmington, Delaware
Which Food Systems degree are you working on? Project Master's
Tell us about your educational background, training, and your interests. I went to Ursinus College, a small liberal arts school outside of Philadelphia, for my undergraduate degree. I majored in Environmental Studies and added minors in Anthropology, Biology, and Creative Writing (I call them my “ABC minors”). After graduation, I worked at a small organic vegetable and flower farm and an organic/local foods grocery store before coming to UVM.
I am interested in how women influence and interact with food systems, and in the proliferation of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms over the past thirty or so years.
What made you interested in a graduate program in Food Systems? I have always been interested in growing things and making food, both in the garden and in the kitchen. During my undergraduate work, I took a class called Food, Society, & the Environment that worked with a local CSA farm, and I loved the idea of a community pledging support for a farm before the growing season begins. After graduating, I took a year off to experience some food systems for myself, and then started looking for a graduate program that fit my interests in food.
Tell us about your final project. My project will be based on a series of interviews of women farmers in Vermont. Through these interviews, I want to learn more about how these women use a variety of unique management practices and structures to overcome the barriers that many women face when attempting success in the agricultural sphere. I hope to use the results of this project to work with UVM Extension in supporting new women farmers.
Have you learned anything in particular since entering the program that has surprised you? I have enjoyed seeing how disparate parts of a food system actually have multiple connections between them, and the classes that I’ve taken in this program have helped bring those connections to light. Our food system is so complex and multi-layered, but having classes that look at both the big picture and the small details has helped further my understanding of how it works and how it can be influenced.
What are your future career goals? I would love to work in a food education-related job back in Delaware. The local food movement is not as established there as it is here in Vermont, and there is so much potential for expansion.
What has been your experience living and studying in Vermont? Vermont has such a great focus on building and supporting local food ventures. Having such interesting “case studies” all around us while studying at UVM has been a fantastic experience. The city itself has some great spots to hang out, and it’s such a beautiful area—I love having the bike path and the lake so close.
Leave us with a fun fact about yourself. Although it’s been quite a while since I’ve done any training, I was only a few steps away from a black belt in Tang Soo Do (a Korean martial art) when I had to leave home for college.