By NANCY VORIS
Indiana Correspondent

CARMEL, Ind. — Molly McKneight knows her way around a kitchen – the Carmel High School senior grew up not just cooking, but experimenting to create new recipes and taste combinations. Little did she know her hobby would earn her a 2010 Borlaug-Ruan International Internship, sponsored by the World Food Prize Foundation. McKneight has accepted an assignment at the International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center in Ankara, Turkey.

The 16 students selected to receive the internships will complete eight-week, expenses-paid international internships at leading agricultural research centers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. For McKneight, the past year has been an exciting one. Last spring she visited Purdue University’s Department of Food Science to plan her college career.

“After the visit, I knew food science was something I wanted to pursue,” McKneight said. “I’ve always been interested in researching and developing new foods.”

The department chair told her about the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute, which exposes young students to opportunities associated with careers in food, agriculture and natural resources. Youth Institute participants interact with Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates and other experts to discuss issues relating to food security and nutrition issues.

“I decided to take a chance and write a paper,” McKneight said of applying for the Youth Institute. Her topic was nutrition in the African country of Swaziland.

She was chosen for the Youth Institute held in Des Moines, Iowa, where she learned of internships abroad.

She applied in early December, then was chosen for a videocam interview in February. Three weeks later, McKneight learned she was one of 16 chosen for the internship. The Borlaug-Ruan Internship allows student interns to participate in projects with world-renowned researchers at leading agricultural research centers around the globe. The interns are involved in global projects dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger, such as fisheries and aquaculture studies, biotechnology, micro-credit and the women’s self-help concept, the influence of education on household food security and the calculation of Vitamin C concentration in numerous potato varieties. “The goal of the Borlaug-Ruan Summer Internship Program is to inspire tomorrow’s scientific and humanitarian leaders,” said Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation.

“The majority of these young alumni tell us that our Foundation’s International Internship program provided the formative experience that inspired them to pursue their chosen career paths.”

McKneight is specifically interested in plant pathology and believes when the summer is over, she will have a better idea of what career path she will choose. As she learned more about Purdue and the World Food Prize, she discovered an affinity for agriculture.
“After I wrote the paper, I got a lot more interested in agriculture,” McKneight said. “It is so fascinating. There is so much in the (Purdue) School of Agriculture, I hope to add agriculture majors.”
The World Food Prize was founded by the late Dr. Norman E. Borlaug in 1986 to recognize and inspire breakthrough achievements in improving the quality, quantity or availability of food throughout the world. In 1990, Des Moines businessman and philanthropist John Ruan assumed sponsorship of The Prize and established The World Food Prize Foundation, located in Des Moines.

For more, visit www.worldfoodprize.org/youth_institute