Tesdall Receives AIARD award and Fulbright scholarship

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development (AIARD) recently announced the recipients of 12 Future Leaders Forum scholarships. Among those 12 were College of Agricultural Sciences graduate students Genna Tesdall and Elisabeth Garner. AIARD awards are presented on a competitive basis, to students who have shown a demonstrated interest and outstanding record in addressing international agriculture and rural development issues and their solutions. Tesdall and Garner attended the 2018 AIARD Annual Conference on June 3 in Washington, D.C. Tesdall had the opportunity to share her perspective on Fusarium Wilt of banana to highlight the field of plant pathology within international agriculture and development.

"The AIARD Future Leaders Forum offered the opportunity to make contacts with individuals and organizations passionate about international agriculture," said Tesdall, master's student in Plant Pathology and in International Agriculture and Development. "As a fellow of the Future Leaders Forum, I felt welcomed into a community of development professionals that were very interested in welcoming me and my growing skills. The group dynamic among the leaders of AIARD and the FLF Fellows was energizing; it makes me excited to enter the workplace after my year as a Fulbright Fellow in Berlin."

Tesdall also received a Fulbright scholarship for the upcoming year at Humboldt University in Berlin. The Fulbright Scholarship Program sponsors U.S. and foreign participants for exchanges in all areas of endeavor, including the sciences, business, academe, public service, government, and the arts and continues to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.