Fall 2008

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Spending a Summer in Borlaug's Shoes

Nathan Upah, junior in animal science and agronomy, worked to place Norman Borlaug's home on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the college's Borlaug Scholar Award and Internship.

You could say Nathan Upah put himself in the shoes of Norman Borlaug for the summer. Or at least put himself under the same roof.

Upah lived in Borlaug's boyhood home in Cresco, Iowa, as part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Borlaug Scholar Award and Internship.

Upah, the first participant in the program and a junior in animal science and agronomy, spent four weeks restoring the farm and promoting the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize laureate's legacy.

Upah did a lot to clean up and maintain the Borlaug farm home. "I also worked with educators in the community to bring the younger generations to the farm and learn about Borlaug's tremendous impact on the world," says Upah, who will pass on the project to next year's interns.

In addition, Upah's internship included working two days each week at the ISU Northeast Research Farm near Nashua, assisting with water quality research.

"I liked the flexibility between the Borlaug farm and the research farm. My experiences in Cresco were quite simply amazing," he says. "On the other hand, I was involved in a research study evaluating the difference in water quality in different methods of field tiling, which gave me more agronomy experience."

Upah grew up on a livestock farm in Clutier, Iowa, and is the college's student council vice president as well as an ambassador for the college and a member of the Dairy Science Club.

Maurice Kramer ('65 MS agricultural education), a member of the Borlaug Heritage Foundation in Cresco and Upah's site supervisor, appreciated Upah's initiative.

"He is a self starter and that was important. He initiated several meaningful projects that enhanced the internship," Kramer says. "He worked on marketing activities, followed up with Congress on designating the home a national historic site, charted soil types and contacted the Iowa Department of Transportation regarding road signs."

In addition, Upah participated in community visits and was given the opportunity to meet Borlaug's sister, Charlotte Culbert of Cresco, as well as other prominent figures.

"Because of Borlaug's huge impact and the amount of money awarded, this is the most prestigious scholarship package in the college," says David Acker, associate dean for academic and global programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "The ISU Agricultural Endowment wants the recipient to understand where he came from, and understand Borlaug was just like you and me."

The scholarship is sponsored by the ISU Agricultural Endowment, founded in 1937, which provides opportunities for the college to support the people and infrastructure vital to the future of Iowa agriculture.

By supporting the Borlaug scholarship, the Agricultural Endowment hopes to catch the attention of young Borlaugs and help cultivate future leaders.

Students in their sophomore or junior year are eligible to apply and the recipient is chosen based on strong leadership involvement and work ethic, qualities attributed to Borlaug.

"We look for students who are mature and have proven to be self-starters," Acker says. "We also want the student to come back to campus and share the experience with other students."