Voices of ACES

All Students Educators From the Dean Social
June 15, 2022
By Jada Davis and Ava Oros
Connecting today with tomorrow through ALEC
The bridge of agricultural communications between the University of Illinois and prospective ACES students is expanding with The Morrow, a new online magazine publication completely student built from the ground up.
June 3, 2022
By Sarah Widener
Landing in Morocco
Salam! My name is Sarah and during the spring semester I had the opportunity to complete research in Morocco thanks to the ACES Global Food Security grant. I was excited to conduct research in Rabat, Morocco, focused on improving food security in arid countries. My goals are further motivated by climate change, as it contributes to the creation of more extreme weather events and conditions.
May 27, 2022
By Jerrica Hood
An ACES Adventure
Graduating from the University of Illinois has been a dream of mine since I could remember; I cannot put into words the emotions I felt walking across the stage on graduation day. Those steps signified an accomplishment I’ve been working towards my whole life. Although the journey was coming to an end, it paved the way for a new and unexpected path. Before I talk about that though, I want to start from the beginning of my career.
April 18, 2022
By Agnes Millimouno
Global scholar’s research, work focuses on women farmers in homeland of Sierra Leone
After a long 48-hour journey from Chicago to Freetown, I landed safely on the shores of my beloved homeland, Sierra Leone. I traveled all night from Freetown to Njala Campus, where I had a tough night due to the hot and humid weather. But at last, the journey ended joyfully.
April 8, 2022
By Leia Flure
Nutrition students connect with dietitians to explore cultural food diversity
Nutrition students and dietetics practitioners came together last month to consider diversity through a lens everyone can relate to – food. Co-hosted by the Eastern Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (EIAND) and the Nutritional Sciences Graduate Student Association (NSGSA), the event was planned and executed entirely by students in the University of Illinois’ dietetic internship program.
March 21, 2022
By Laura Mabry
Love it or hate it, black licorice tickles taste buds
Back to the cookies. In the height of the pandemic, I ventured into Bevier Hall, grabbed my bag of samples. At home, I nibbled, rinsed, and nibbled again, following the steps in an online module. I assessed smell, taste, and texture.
March 14, 2022
By Justine Karduck
National Nutrition Month at U of I: Promotion of healthy eating habits
Dietetics students from the Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) 329 Communication in Nutrition course celebrated National Nutrition Month by hosting a National Nutrition Month Fair in the Student Dining and Residential Programs Building (SDRP) on March 7.
February 2, 2022
By Joyce Njuguna
Global scholar connects with research in home country of Kenya
I grew up in Kenya, just outside the capital city, in a community of small holder farmers and have experienced first-hand what it is like to grow food for subsistence. This has shaped my appreciation for agriculture and the role it plays to combat hunger and improve the livelihoods of communities around the world. When I joined the crop science department as a graduate student, I attended a seminar where ACES professor Alex Winter-Nelson spoke of the opportunity to conduct research in partnership with a mentor in an international agricultural research center through the ACES Global Food Security Graduate Fellowship. This talk sparked my interest and I saw this as the perfect opportunity to connect the science I was learning here in the U.S. with the research efforts ongoing in my home country.
January 7, 2022
By ACES staff
5 Questions Friday: New feature spotlights must-know ACES faces
The ACES community is filled with passionate people – some in the spotlight and some behind the scenes. They care about and focus on world-changing work like:
December 16, 2021
By Vanessa Cahill
Never lose your sense of wonder: 2021 Dec. Convocation
Vanessa Cahill, an ACES graduating senior in ACE, majoring in policy, international trade and development, delivered this December’s ACES convocation speech. She said, "Due to the pandemic, I was unable to study a semester abroad as planned during my time at Illinois. This pushed me to buckle down and finish my degree by December to take a few months and explore new parts of the world before starting work. If ACES has shown me one thing, it is the endless opportunity in this industry. That being said, I am not limiting myself to working in America. Traveling to different countries around the world will expose me to new sides of agriculture that I have never considered. Internships in agricultural supply chain and digital technology (precision agriculture) have shown me that these are areas where I strive to make an impact. My goal is to have a job secured by the end of the summer that allows me to work on the efficiency of global agricultural supply chains or develop agricultural technology."