Anna Turnquist ’16 poses with her certificate from participating in the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute, at Iowa State on April 14.

Anna  Turnquist ’16 participated in the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute at Iowa State University on April 14. She wrote a research paper about food security in Haiti and she had to present her ideas in front of professors at Iowa State as well as other people who have been working towards ending world hunger.

“It took me a long time to finish my research paper, it was difficult because it didn’t have a guideline specifically like in high school papers. I revised my paper about five times and changed it dramatically each time,” said Turnquist. Turnquist also worked countless hours with Mrs.Hughes who helped her increase the quality of her paper and make it stronger. This paper wasn’t like your typical English essay, and it took a lot of effort, according to Turnquist.

“Before starting the paper I thought it would be similar to the tenth grade research paper but it was much more intense and required a lot more time to be put in.”

While participating in the event Turnquist remembers being very nervous because she had  never done anything like this before. Turnquist recalls practicing her speech many times a day to get it to the point where she felt comfortable with it. At the event participants had two rounds of speakers and two activities. One of the activities was something called a round table where 10-15 students gathered to present their presentations. Another activity was policy and leadership where Turnquist worked with other high schoolers who were participating.

“We learned about leadership skills and how it is so important to work together to end problems in today’s society.I learned a lot about success in several organizations as well as how much other humans in other countries are suffering when I’m worrying what AP classes I’m doing and what to eat at lunch when I should be focusing on more important issues,” said Turnquist.  According to Turnquist, attending this event she learned how blessed she is to have clean drinkable water as well as an education and a meal to eat. She  would love to be able to go on mission trip one day and hopefully, personally, be part of the solution to end world hunger.