Student Resources

Students who participate in the Wisconsin Youth Institute…

• Earn recognition as a Borlaug Scholar
• Are eligible to apply for the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship, USDA Wallace-Carver Fellowship, and World Food Prize Foundation Internships
• Strengthen communication and leadership skills
• Build connections with peers who are also passionate about food security, agriculture, and sustainability
• Selected students will be able to attend the Global Youth Institute in Des Moines, Iowa

At this exciting event, participating high school students have the opportunity to:

• Present research and recommendations on ways to solve key global challenges in a short speech and small group discussions with statewide experts;
• Connect with other student leaders from across Wisconsin to share ideas, identify solutions to these problems and build lasting friendships;
• Explore the issues, current research and opportunities to make a difference at the University of Wisconsin; and
• Interact with leaders in Wisconsin who are working to end hunger and poverty and improve food security and sustainability around the world.

1. Identify a mentor. This could be a teacher, a club leader, a coach or even a parent.
2. Utilizing the Global Challenge Guide, choose a country and related food security topic.
3. Use your critical thinking skills and curiosity to explore and learn about your chosen country and topic. Resources to help you with your research are available here.
4. Write a 3-5 page research paper.
5. Register for the Wisconsin Youth Institute by TBD.
6. Submit your paper by TBD.
   • If you need to make changes or edits to your registration or uploaded paper, please reach out to kara.henderlight@wisc.edu.
7. Attend the Wisconsin Youth Institute at the UW-Madison campus TBD.

Research and papers should be worked on individually, with peers and mentors providing feedback or suggestions as appropriate. If your mentor or teacher includes class or group learning and collaboration, you may use that to help guide your writing, but the final research paper should be an independent piece.

If your school or class doesn’t participate in the Wisconsin Youth Institute, you can participate as an individual. We still require that you work with a mentor to help guide your research and provide feedback on your project.

In collaboration with Steenbock Library at UW-Madison, we have created a research guide to help you start your research.

You can also review the Global Challenge Research Paper Instructions and Global Challenge sample paper for guidance.

The day of the Wisconsin Youth Institute, you will arrive on campus early in the morning for a brief welcome over breakfast starting at 8:30 a.m. Throughout the day, you will be grouped with students from different interest areas and schools when possible to help you get to know more people and learn about other perspectives and issues related to food security.

The general outline of the day looks like this:

8:30-9:00 Breakfast and registration

9:00-10:00 Welcome remarks and morning plenary session

10:00-11:45 Student roundtable and discussion

11:45-12:30 Lunch and poster judging

12:30-2:15 Immersion activity

2:15-2:45 Afternoon plenary session

2:45-3:30 Borlaug Scholar ceremony and ice cream

3:30 Day adjourns

Each student should be prepared to provide a brief presentation of their research paper during the student roundtable and discussion portion of the day. Participants will be grouped with 6-7 other students, plus two staff moderators. Each student will have approximately 5 minutes to present, and visual aids are not allowed. You are allowed to use a notecard, but reading directly from it will affect your presentation scores. Following each presentation, there will be a few minutes for discussion and questions from the moderators and your peers. It is also expected that you actively listen and engage with your peers by asking follow up questions to their presentations.

During your presentations, the moderators will be listening for the following:

• Summary of the topic you selected in the context of your country
• Description of a typical family or community within your chosen country
• Analysis of the topic you selected, and your proposed recommendation(s) or solution(s)
• Description of a feasible plan to implement your proposed recommendation(s) or solution(s)
• Your passion for the topic and your ability to articulate and deliver your presentation

Pro tips:

It is important for students to focus the majority of their presentation on the solution(s) to their research area. Students often make the mistake of elaborating too much on background information or country demographics and do not have enough time to share how to address the issue.

The moderators at your tables are there to have a dialogue with you and the other students, not to act as judges. Oftentimes, you are the expert on your topic area and country in the room, so there is an opportunity to both share and learn from your peers and moderators.

Global Youth Institute delegates are chosen based on their research paper and presentation. The number of delegates that represent each youth institute varies, Wisconsin typically selects 3-5 delegates to attend the Global Youth Institute.

The top 3-5 students are selected and contacted via email. This typically occurs in the summer. If you are selected as a delegate and are unable or not interested in attending the GYI, we do select alternates. Once you have been informed, the World Food Prize Foundation team will work with you and your mentor on the next steps to attend the Global Youth Institute in Des Moines, Iowa. The GYI occurs annually in October.

If you are a senior when you participate in WYI, you are still eligible to attend and participate in the GYI in Des Moines, IA.

Find someone who has time to support you as you work on your research paper. Your mentor may help you stay on track, give you feedback on your writing, help you find research resources, help you practice your presentation, and attend the institute with you. The mentor must be at least 18 years old.

Here are some examples of who might be a good mentor:

• Teachers or staff at your school
• Guardians or family members 
• Tutors 
• Coaches
• Community members

There is no registration cost to participate in WYI and meals will be provided during the event. However, both student and teacher/mentor participants must organize their own transportation to and from the event in Madison, Wisconsin. Parking information will be provided to teacher/mentors prior to the event.

In compliance with UW-Madison’s Office of Youth Protection, regardless of age, no student is allowed to attend the event without their mentor/chaperone, nor are students permitted to drive themselves to the event.

There is no formal dress code for WYI, however, we do recommend comfortable walking shoes. Business casual attire is suggested, but not required.

You should bring any weather appropriate clothing, a copy of your paper, a good attitude and excitement to learn!

Regardless of your path, participation will be just as valuable. Many participants have gone on to study and work in medicine, law, economics, social sciences and more. Youth Institute alumni find that their participation provided them with amazing opportunities to learn how food systems are intertwined with every facet of society. Examples of how can you highlight your experience and participation:

• List this experience and your recognition as a Borlaug Scholar on resumes
• Add your research paper to your portfolio
• Add your experience to your LinkedIn page
• Highlight you participation in your college application essay
• Mentors can include it in letters of recommendation