Initiatives

Since 1998, E. Kika De La Garza Fellowships have recognized highly accomplished staff and faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Hispanic-Serving School Districts. Participants meet directly with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies to learn about opportunities are available for their respective institutions and their students. Science Fellows, like Associate Professor of Biotechnology Alok Arun from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico Barranquitas campus, also collaborate with leading USDA scientists and a USDA Research Center. Professor Arun shares his experience with the Fellowship Program.

September 15 through October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month. USDA recognizes and celebrates the many contributions of Hispanic-Serving Institutions to the education of more than 1.3 million Hispanic students every year.

Meet Cristal Castillo, a native of Pingree, Idaho who attends Idaho State University majoring in marketing. Cristal is one of eight students selected for an internship with USDA’s 2023 High School Equivalency Program (HEP)/College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP).

Alcorn State University graduate Christopher Epps learned firsthand how a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) investment in a student’s educational career can have a lifetime impact.

The transition from military to civilian life can be challenging, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Military Veteran Agricultural Liaison (MVAL) offers assistance to veterans that can lead to permanent employment or help in starting an agriculture-related business.

For Kourtney Graves, a political science major at Jackson State University in Mississippi, her U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) summer internship has inspired insight into future career options.

Agriculture reigns as one of the most sustainable industries with constant innovations despite the ever-changing environment of macroeconomic trends, climate variability, disrupted supply chains, and more. For U.S. Department of Agriculture Equity Commission Member Ron Rainey who was raised on his father's small cattle farm and timber business, his interest in the economics of agriculture has increasingly grown with the changing tides of the sector.

In support of Section 1006 of the American Rescue Plan and USDA’s commitment to advance equitable access to USDA program and services, the Office of Customer Experience, or OCX, spent the past year working to improve the support provided to USDA’s community-based partners who work to connect economically distressed and/or underserved communities with USDA programs and services, specifically American Rescue Plan Technical Assistance Investment Program (ARPTAI) cooperators. The culmination of this work is USDA CARES, an initiative dedicated to Create, Assist, Rebuild, Empower and Strengthen our communities and customer relationships. USDA CARES is comprised of a series of resources that directly address cooperators’ needs.

This summer 64 students who were selected for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) Internship Program gained real world experience at USDA agencies and offices across the United States. The TMCF Internship Program is one of many that enable USDA to recruit a diverse workforce while helping students gain the valuable knowledge and skills needed for employment with one of USDA’s agencies and offices.

California native Floyd D. Harris III knows that perseverance and hard work pay off. A recent graduate of Southern University, an 1890 land-grant university in Louisiana, Harris applied several times to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)/1890 National Scholars Program.