GRASS-ROOTS BY EMMANUELLA NKANSAH
For many, making waves in society begins with change. But for these students, contributions to society began with a platform, namely NY Sun Works, which hosted a youth conference at the Javits Center that highlighted students of many ages. As a member of the Youth Press Team, I had the pleasure of interviewing exceptional people whose work stirred a buzz in their communities. Here are the stories of a few remarkable individuals who used their love for agriculture to make change within their communities:
Yash exercised his love for problem-solving with his website Agrihealth, which served as an “Urban Farming Assistant.” Hailing from Union City, New Jersey, Yash’s project tackles gaps in knowledge and access to proper agricultural practices in urban neighborhoods like his by combining technology and an AI chatbox to help consumers. When asked about challenges he encountered during the process, I learned he faced them with grit, using his school’s hydroponics lab and his teachers to help him pave the way. Soaring to new heights through his innovative work, Agrihealth provides consumers with an environmentally friendly and convenient way to preserve their crops.
Our next notable interviewees were Nikolai, Nikoloz, and Arnold, who focused on “Fresh, Flavorful, Local” approaches to “Starting a School Farmer’s Market.” Like Yosh, their projects began at school, where they worked alongside their peers and educators through a series of taste tests, flavor experimentation, and overall trial and error. Their work teaches audiences the value of perseverance, as they exclaimed how their faith in their classmates and project helped them overcome setbacks. Prioritizing passion over profit, their main goal was finding a new niche for students and faculty to invest in as they sold seasonings and crops through their school’s farmers’ market.
With each interaction with a new group of students, I could feel myself, as well as my other interviewers, gaining a clearer understanding of the world of agriculture. Not only did their projects communicate the extensive sweat and hard work that went into making their final products, but they also showcased how their projects reflected their communities, as they merged their interests and used them to make waves in their societies.
