Three Agribusiness Students Accepted into Graduate School Mentoring Program

The students, from left, DeAundr’e Newsome, Justin Anderson, and Isa Kamau Salaam, were awarded $2,250 Stipends by the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

Three Florida A&M University (FAMU) agribusiness students were recently accepted into a graduate school mentoring program and will each receive a $2,250 stipend that can be used for travel, research, and/or graduate school applications.

Selected by the Committee on Opportunities and Status of Blacks in Agricultural Economics (COSBAE) of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA), the students are: Justin Anderson, DeAundr’e Newsome, and Isa Kamau Salaam.

“The COSBAE mentoring program collaborates with the Committee on Women in Agricultural Economics (CWAE) to support undergraduate students from historically under-represented groups who are interested in graduate education and research,” said Agribusiness Assistant Professor Michée Arnold Lachaud, Ph.D., of the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences (CAFS). Lachaud serves as secretary/treasurer for COSBAE and will serve as a mentor for Newsome and Anderson.

Daniel Solis, Ph.D., FAMU associate agribusiness professor and agribusiness program leader, will be Salaam’s mentor. The program committee will also connect each student with an additional mentor, to help establish stronger ties between 1862, 1890, and 1994 land-grant universities.

The three students are all U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 1890 Scholars, and each has achieved academic success and leadership experience while at FAMU:

Anderson, a third-year scholar from Tallahassee, Florida, is as a member of the Florida Farm Bureau and the FAMU Chapter of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS).

“I am extremely thankful for this opportunity to be a part of the CWAE and COSBAE’s Building the Pipeline Undergraduate Mentoring Program,” said Anderson. “It truly means a lot to me, because it is going to help guide me on a path to earning a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics – one of the most important goals to achieve as far as my academic career.

Newsome, a fourth-year scholar from Las Vegas, Nevada, serves as FAMU MANRRS Chapter President and has made the President’s List every year while at FAMU. He was a Mercy Corps Market Systems paid virtual intern for the fall 2020 semester, and also won the John Deere Thurgood Marshall Scholarship last year.

“I am very grateful to receive this opportunity, as it will allow me to not only continue to grow my knowledge in agricultural economics, but also receive guidance from amazing economists as I look towards my professional/post-undergraduate career,” said Newsome.

Salaam, a third-year student from Tallahassee was selected to attend the online 2021 Agriculture Future of America (AFA) Food Institute during his first year at FAMU. An active member of the FAMU Food Science Club, FAMU Chapter of the Florida Farm Bureau, and Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS), he plans to pursue a graduate studies in agricultural economics.

“I am looking to assist with the transportation of agricultural products and deepen my understanding of logistics and supply chain operations,” said Salaam.