A Washington High School educator is learning how to be a “global changemaker” in her community as part of the World Food Prize Foundation’s “Global Guides” program.
Global Guides was created in partnership with the Global Teach Ag Network whose mission is to help expand the capacity of teachers and education programs for global impact in food, fiber, and natural resources. English teacher and instructional coach Kerrie Willis has long been interested in the foundation and has helped students apply for the World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue and Global Youth Institute hosted in Des Moines. Willis was eager to apply for the nine-month professional development program that included attendance at the institute this October, with continued learning and online mentoring support sessions.
Willis says she was most excited to be a part of the program despite not being an agriculture teacher, “And even though the World Food Prize is focused on food and food sustainability it also has values like diversity, and life on land, life below water, climate action, sustainable jobs, and social justice. There’s so many things beyond just raising crops for example that have to do with the World Food Prize. And that was maybe the exciting part of being a part of it was just learning from all these laureates what their research was about, because people are tackling hunger in so many different ways.”
After attending the conference, Willis says she hopes to do “a million things” both small and large to combat issues facing students including hunger, “One thing I have envisioned is a large project that would involve teachers here at the high school, but then partner with also our school nurse, community members and organizations. Different county outreach organizations that we have, 4-H, lots of different people who work on issues related to food, hunger, poverty.”
Willis looks forward to sharing more about these plans as they develop over the next few months. The total estimated value of the Global Guides program is $6,000, and participants are expected to share results of their projects in May.