Executive Board Senior Highlight: Whitney Ashead

Tell us about your involvement with the Student Farm.

I came across the club and got involved spring semester of my freshman year. I became immediately interested because I was new to the College of Agriculture as a freshman, and did not know where I sat in that space. The Student Farm Club felt like a positive community in the College and became a place where I felt like I fit in. Before coming to Penn State, I did not come from a farming background, so I wanted to learn more, but struggled to find a community where there was no judgment to learn more about farming, food systems, and food insecurity.

During my sophomore year, I built connections with Lion’s Pantry, Eco-Action, and environmental programs. I organized potlucks while brainstorming ways we could collaborate. As a project team leader, we saw that the Lion’s Pantry lack of access to fresh food created an opportunity for  the Student Farm to help improve access to fresh food.

During my junior year, as the director of outreach I was able to use connections built from the Council of Sustainability Leaders  to help the Student Farm secure permanent space to expand from our current one-acre farm to a three-acre farm. This extensive process included working with the administration, and learning how to communicate effectively to accomplish a goal. This experience gave me insight into how achieving a big goal like the farm expansion can be exhausting, but the ultimate email from Provost securing $400,000 and the additional two acres was no so rewarding. Establishing supportive connections for the future,so that the Student Farm can continue to engage with the campus community were all important to keep in mind throughout the process.

This past year as a senior, I helped out with project teams, worked with senior administration and the farm expansion team, and organized volunteer days to help advance the expansion.

What are some lessons you learned on the farm?

During my time out on the farm, I really learned how to take agency to solve problems because the farm is such an open space where land and plants can be forgiving. A lot of times I would have to think ‘how do I solve issues?’ This led to a process of continuous and active problem-solving. 

In my position as the director of outreach, I learned how to navigate certain situations, especially with the farm expansion process. I also had to think about how to solve problems, how to build community through engagement with food systems, trying different methods of outreach and building community. 

What have you learned during your time with the Student Farm Club?

I learned a lot of solid, tangible skills such as how to ferment food and how to keep worms, through our vermiculture workshops. I learned a lot of soft skills too, such as how important it is to work in teams and collaborate with others. Being out on the farm and learning in-depth about the food system made me a better cook because I learned to appreciate food more and I learned how to utilize different types of vegetables as they come into season as well. Growing up, I ate a lot of canned vegetables, so I thought I hated vegetables, but this exposure to fresh food opened up my mind to the flavors, importance and health value of fresh food.