About the Internship
In the words of the World Food Prize Foundation, "The prestigious Borlaug-Ruan International Internship provides students a unique professional experience working with world-renowned scientists and policymakers at leading research and development organizations around the world.
Since 1998, The World Food Prize Foundation has placed 431 students on Borlaug-Ruan International Internships at leading agricultural research and development organizations around the world in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, including: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey.
The Borlaug-Ruan International Internship differs from other study abroad and internship programs in that students complete original research projects alongside World Food Prize and Nobel Laureates, and work with acclaimed international researchers and practitioners in the field to improve food security and solve the most pressing agricultural, nutritional, health, economic and environmental problems around the world. The student becomes an integral member of their team, spending significant time in the laboratory, in the field, and in local communities conducting research and gathering data."
About the S M Seghal Foundation
According to the S M Sehgal Foundation, "We believe every person deserves to lead a more secure, prosperous, and dignified life. With that vision in mind, the S M Sehgal Foundation mission is to strengthen community-led development initiatives to achieve positive social, economic, and environmental change across rural India.
S M Sehgal Foundation (Sehgal Foundation) has been working since 1999 to improve the quality of life of the rural communities in India. As a rural development NGO, established as a public, charitable trust, Sehgal Foundation has a skilled and dedicated team that creates sustainable programs to address rural India’s most pressing needs: Sehgal Foundation has five main program areas: Water Management, Agriculture Development, Local Participation and Sustainability, Transform Lives one school at a time, and Outreach for Development. These programs are supported by a skilled research team that engages in participatory research, impact assessment, and interactive dialogues to determine informed actions to achieve sustainable results."
About the World Food Prize Foundation
The mission of the World Food Prize Foundation is "To elevate innovations and inspire action to sustainably increase the quality, quantity, and availability of food for all." The Foundation accomplishes these goals through "Recognizing and rewarding individuals making exceptional achievements in addressing food security; convening global leaders in Des Moines each year to address the latest issues and innovations in food and agriculture; inspiring and recognizing exceptional students in Iowa, in the U.S. and around the world by providing educational and professional experiences on pressing food security and agriculture issues; and addressing Iowa's challenges and successes in fighting hunger and poverty through the Iowa Hunger Summit and Directory."
Founded in 1986 by Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Father of the Green Revolution, and the "man who has saved more lives than anyone who has ever lived," Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, the World Food Prize has come to be known in its own right as the "Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture."
About Isaac Vosburg
Hi! I'm Isaac Vosburg. I was born and raised in Iowa, where I've spent almost all of my younger years. In my hometown of Hampton, I've been involved in everything from 4-H and fine arts to founding H-D-CAL High School's Intercultural Club and earning a silver cord for my commitment to volunteering within the community.
My immediate family consists of my father, Dr. Zach Vosburg, who owns and operates the Hampton Veterinary Center, and in 1999, was a member of one of the World Food Prize Foundation's first cohorts of Borlaug-Ruan International Interns; my mother, Mrs. Alexis Vosburg, who teaches within the Hampton-Dumont Community School District and runs the Alternative School Program there; my younger brother, William, who is soon to be a sophomore in high school; and my many many international siblings who have come into our home courtesy of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program (Nasra - Tanzania, Bora - Türkiye, Shahmir - Pakistan, Salma - Morocco, Rimmy - Albania, Mitterand - Cameroon, Anto - India, Ardian - Kosovo, and Hazem - Egypt).
Some of my experiences and achievements include spending my junior year of high school (2023-2024) as an exchange student in Segamat, Malaysia under the U.S. Department of State's Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad program; serving as the First Vice-President of the Iowa Association of Student Councils from 2022 (officer elect) to 2025; representing Iowa as one of the state's two delegates to the 63rd annual United States Senate Youth Program (2025); earning recognition as one of the 150 members of the Coca-Cola Scholars Class of 2025; being named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist; winning the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award at the school, local, district and state levels; and of course, attending the Global Youth Institute in both 2022 and 2024, first as a delegate (being then named a Borlaug Scholar) and later as a group leader.
My future plans are to attend Grinnell College in the fall of 2025 and pursue coursework pertaining to Global Development so as to best situate myself for service in the Peace Corps post graduation and a larger career in the humanitarian, aid, and development fields.