Senior wins internship in Tanzania

Karl Sadkowski poses with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo at the Global Youth Institute in October.

Senior Karl Sadkowski will spend his Borlaug-Ruan International Internship in Arusha, Tanzania, with the World Vegetable Center’s Regional Center for Africa this summer. He earned the internship through the Iowa-based World Food Prize Foundation.

Founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, the World Food Prize Foundation  honors those who strive to improve the quality, quantity and availability of food throughout the world. It honors contributors to fields connected to the world food supply. These “Laureates” are recognized for their contributions to fields connected to the world food supply.

The World Food Prize Foundation established the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute in 1994 to raise the awareness of Iowa youth. Since 1998, the foundation has given select high school students the opportunity to participate in the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship. The internship provides accepted students with an eight-week long all-expenses-paid summer program to work at research centers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East with prominent scientists and policymakers.

Potential interns must apply by Dec. 31 and be in at least 11th grade at the time of application to be considered for the internship the following summer. Sadkowski researched and wrote a paper on “The Democratic Republic of the Congo: Assisting Vulnerable Populations and Improving the Effectiveness of Humanitarian Relief and Food Aid.”

“This was a very difficult paper to write, but gratifying; it was a topic I had little background in before,” Sadkowski said.

Participating in the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship has been a goal of Sadkowski’s since he first learned about it. “Doing food security-related research in an impoverished foreign country for two months seemed like such a good dream to me before I was accepted. Past interns call this internship some of the best two months of their lives. I think it will act  as a springboard for me to jump into global development as a career,” Sadkowski said.

Sadkowski noted the importance of the World Food Prize Foundation: “Norman Borlaug, one of the world’s most famous agricultural visionaries, founded the World Food Prize with the intent to encourage agriculture and honor those who make great strides in reducing hunger. The late Dr. Borlaug’s voice still remains central to the World Food Prize. This organization really does deserve more publicity — it is the Nobel Prize for food. The youth programs of the World Food Prize are critical to pushing young students into the area of food security. I am an example of that,” Sadkowski said.

The foundation is located in Des Moines. It was originally sponsored by businessman and philanthropist John Ruan. Its current chairman is his son John Ruan III.

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