From the California coast to the heartland of agriculture
Emma Thorpe is a second-year student at Kansas State University. She is studying agriculture economics and global food systems leadership, with a minor in leadership studies. She is an alumnus of the second cohort of Food Security Scholars (FSS), a student-founded program housed within the Staley School of Leadership, and serves as the director of membership and public relations.
A San Diego native, Emma developed her passion for food through her high school Future Farmers of America (FFA) program. During her time in FFA, Emma began to discover the complexities of our food system and its intimate connection to agriculture. From her experiences as a member, to her year as the state vice president for the California FFA Association, Emma truly learned how service, community, and food are intricately linked. Her work in California led her to pursue an education that would prepare her for a career in agriculture.
Throughout her first year at K-State, Emma sought out experiences that would connect her to peers and professors who shared her passion for food and service of the local community. As a member of Food Security Scholars’ Cohort II, Emma engaged with peers from a diverse range of majors to expand her understanding of what it means to be food insecure.
As a global food systems leadership student under the instruction of Mary Kay Siefers, Ph.D., Emma began to develop a systems-based perspective of our world and how those systems affect people of all demographics. In practice of her systems-thinking mindset, Emma chose to pursue a major in agriculture economics to develop a deeper understanding of how the economic power of our agriculture system works at every level, and how we can utilize it to best serve farmers.
Emma is passionate about service. As a scholar in FSS, Emma quickly became no stranger to having tough conversations about ‘wicked’ problems that our world faces. She is passionate about developing sustainable agriculture systems, and ensuring healthy food is accessible in all spaces. As she looks ahead at her next three years as a Wildcat, Emma is eager to deepen her passion for food security and her understanding of how our systems affect not just those in Kansas or California, but those around the world.
The Staley School of Leadership and the Food Security Scholars are honored to have Emma as the director of membership and public relations, and looks forward to the impact she will make on the scholars in Cohort III.
