In 1986, philanthropist Dr. Norman E. Borlaug established the World Food Prize to combat famine and the hunger crisis in our modern world. Students from Mason City recently participated in an event centered around his work. The Iowa Youth Institute 2018 was an event held at Iowa State University on April 30th. Out of 24 students who wrote essays for the World Food Prize Research Paper assignment in Honors English 10, three of them submitted their papers to the World Food Prize and were able to attend the Iowa Youth Institute. All students selected an issue in a developing country and proposed a solution to that global problem. The three students who elected to present their research at the event were Danika Brooks, Daniel Stephenson, and Emmanuel Reibsamen.
Sophomore Daniel Stephenson thought it was a great experience, “It was really cool to be able to help make a difference and be part of something bigger and participate in something that will hopefully change the world.” His essay discussed climate change and its environmental effects, and he is currently hoping that the paper makes it to Global Youth Institute, held next October.
This event was a wonderful experience for the students who attended. Not only did they get to learn more about helping our modern world, but even the students who did not go got to learn more about it through their research. It is important for students to have a voice, and events like these are how those voices are heard.