Waukee APEX Students Win Trip to Corteva Agriscience Headquarters

Global agriscience leader Corteva Agriscience partnered with GENYOUth to offer this opportunity to student teams across the US. A total of 34 teams were selected to participate. Waukee APEX Team: Sydney Brown (NWHS 12), Brooke Piekema (WHS 12), Maitlynn Bucklin (NWHS 12), and APEX Instructor Cindy Snell. 

We attended informational sessions with Corteva leaders including: Planting Purpose: Tuesday, November 14, which covered sustainable agricultural practices, and developments in the farming world. 

Growing Progress: Wednesday, November 15, Farm to table process and how farms, farmers, grocery stores, and business work together to get food in homes and schools. 

Harvesting Change: Thursday, November 16, Educating peers, spreading awareness, and making a difference about important topics such as sustainability, food, agriculture, environmental science, and ag technology. 

On Tuesday, December 5, the team presented the pitch to the online judging panel at Corteva. The plan is to conduct a wide spread agriculture awareness program to Waukee students in grades 1-4. The team is passionate about helping others know where their food comes from. The grant award of $2,599 will pay for the event held on March 1 to celebrate Read Across America Day. We will be partnering with Dallas County Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom, Iowa Ag Literacy Foundation, and Iowa Corn. The funds will be used to purchase agriculture books and materials for activities. 

Corteva is sponsoring the program by providing $2,500 to fund our project and an opportunity to meet with the leaders at Corteva at their national headquarters in Indianapolis January 9-11, 2024. 

The team looks forward to learning more about agriculture careers and bringing more agricultural knowledge to Waukee CSD Elementary Schools.