Illuminate links Appalachia and Senegal through food safety education
The program prepares Virginia Tech and Tennessee State University students for careers in Extension and agricultural education.
On a warm afternoon in Senegal, a Virginia Tech student demonstrated how to test acidity and safely can mango purée as a cluster of women leaned over steaming pots. Moments later, one of the women took the knife and showed students a faster way to section a mango without wasting a drop.
That exchange, equal parts teaching and learning, captures the spirit of Illuminate, a hands‑on program that prepares undergraduates for careers in Extension and agricultural education while partnering with communities in Appalachia and West Africa to advance food safety and nutrition.
Formally known as Illuminating Agricultural and Extension Career Opportunities in Urban Agriculture for STEM and Liberal Arts Undergraduates, the program brings together Virginia Tech, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Cooperative Extension, and Alioune Diop University of Bambey in Senegal.
Through immersive, applied training, students design and deliver community workshops in food safety and home food preservation, supported by Extension professionals and food safety faculty.
“The project exposes students who might never have considered agriculture to careers in Extension, education, and food systems,” said Rick Rudd, Illuminate’s principal investigator and a professor in the Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education. “Students have changed majors or graduate plans because of it.”
Training that travels
Communities in Appalachia and Senegal face similar challenges around food access and preservation — a reality that shapes how Illuminate is structured, Rudd said.
The Illuminate curriculum leans on validated canning methods, clear pH targets, and step‑by‑step processes that translate across languages and settings. Before travel, students practice the full workflow in the lab and with Extension mentors.
Students first apply their training in Appalachian communities, leading workshops on food safety and home food preservation for adults and youth through county Extension and 4-H programs. Guided by Extension agents and faculty mentors, students design, deliver, and evaluate programs for real audiences.
That foundation prepares students for more complex work in Senegal’s Bambey region, where they partner with Alioune Diop University of Bambey and local community groups. Workshops focus on safe home food preservation, including canning mangoes and tomatoes to reduce post-harvest food loss and seasonal food scarcity.
Real‑world constraints, real professional growth
Like any field program, Illuminate’s days unfold with improvisation and patience. Students arrive with pH meters and validated recipes but quickly learn to adapt to variable ingredients, different tools, and instruction through translation to French and local languages.
“You learn there are many ways to communicate beyond language, and that community is everything,” said Jaya Powell, who has participated in the program as a student and later as a mentor to first-time students. “We were there to teach, but we learned just as much about reducing waste and making sure food never goes unused.”
“We realized blenders weren’t practical,” added Brianna Leon, a former participant who also returned as a mentor. “So we used large wooden mortars and pestles from the local market and adjusted the process. We had to work with what was available.”
Those challenges were critical to students’ growth, said Elizabeth “Liz” Sanders, a former Extension agent and current Virginia Tech doctoral student.
“The biggest change was watching them become more confident and getting comfortable being uncomfortable across languages and cultures,” she said. “From day one, the teaching went both ways between students and program participants.”
Lessons from the work in Senegal continue to inform how the program trains future student cohorts.
Mentorship that sticks and careers that follow
The project is also a workforce strategy. The U.S. faces a shortage of Extension agents and agricultural educators — a gap Illuminate tackles by giving students an insider’s view of the profession and a network of mentors who stay in touch long after the program. By funding multi-year projects like Illuminate, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture is working to combat this shortage.
For graduate student Brianna Leon, the experience redirected her career path.
“I didn’t know what Extension was before this,” she said. “Now I’m pursuing a master’s in leadership and community education and seriously considering an Extension role. The amount you learn through Illuminate that you don’t expect to learn is immeasurable — confidence, teamwork, and empathy. These skills can be applied anywhere.”
Faculty leaders say Leon’s experience reflects a broader pattern among participants.
“Several students have shifted into graduate programs in agriculture, food science, or Extension — including here at Virginia Tech,” said Rick Rudd, Illuminate’s principal investigator.
Co-principal investigator John Ricketts, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Tennessee State University, said the program has had a similar impact on his students.
“Over half of our participating students have experienced a change in their career trajectory,” Ricketts said. “Illuminate has been a catalyst for them.”
Sanders said the program’s greatest strength is helping students see what a service-driven career can look like.
“If you’re looking for a career that’s deeply rooted in service and education, where you see change happen in real time, Extension is an incredible place to be,” she said. “Programs like Illuminate don’t just teach canning. They teach students how to show up for communities.”
Partnerships build opportunities
lluminate is sustained by a network of faculty, Extension professionals, and international partners who shape the program long before students ever board a plane.
Ousmane Kane Ph.D. ’21, now an assistant professor at Alioune Diop University of Bambey, helped build the bridge between institutions — ensuring that workshops in Senegal are grounded in local context and community relationships.
Department of Food Science and Technology faculty have provided the technical backbone since the program’s inception. Professor Renee Boyer and Food Safety Program Manager Melissa Chase contributed foundational food safety expertise, while Associate Extension Specialist Lester Schonberger prepares students in validated food preservation methods before they travel.
In communities across Virginia, Extension agents Dawn Barnes, Andrea Haubner, Laura Reasoner, and Susan Prillaman worked directly with students during their Appalachian programming — coaching them not only in food preservation, but in how to engage audiences, facilitate workshops, and respond to real-world questions.
Within the Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education, co-principal investigators Donna Westfall-Rudd, Tiffany Drape, and Lana Petrie help shape the educational framework that prepares students for careers in Extension and community education.
