Hello! My name is Lana. My journey on the transition from the world of urban agriculture to the Student Farm at Penn State proves to be the best learning experience I have had in my college experience yet. I truly feel like I have learned more throughout this journey than in my classes with exams and essays. Throughout this internship, I’ve actually enjoyed learning about the foundations of soil and the nutrients needed for optimal plant growth because I can apply it to an actual, living thing. I can’t do that in other classes where we just memorize and forget after the exam.
I feel like I’ve learned a lot during this experience because I got the chance to work in a small-scale farm operation first. Since I started out small, it was very rewarding for me to dig deeper into the agricultural sciences because I could apply what I had just learned in class to a memory from my urban experience. I realized that if I want to successfully aid the community with the issues surrounding food security and access, I needed to delve into the agriculture field at the academic level. I am still learning something new everyday and probably won’t figure out how to solve all food security issues overnight, but the Student Farm is still helping me grow into a better leader for a more sustainable future. I hope the Student Farm will provide me with the technical and professional skills I need to build my career. I also hope to deepen my spiritual connection to plants and nature throughout this journey on the Student Farm. In conclusion, I am extremely grateful to be part of this group and can’t wait to see where it takes me.
