{"id":72884,"date":"2017-04-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/commencement-2017-food-policy-environment-public-service-on-agenda-of-uri-student-leader-as-graduation-approaches\/"},"modified":"2017-04-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-19T00:00:00","slug":"commencement-2017-food-policy-environment-public-service-on-agenda-of-uri-student-leader-as-graduation-approaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2017\/04\/commencement-2017-food-policy-environment-public-service-on-agenda-of-uri-student-leader-as-graduation-approaches\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2017:   Food policy, environment, public service  on agenda of 溏心vlog免费B站 student leader as graduation approaches"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 April 19, 2017 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 senior Vanessa Garcia Polanco always knew she wanted a career that combined the environment and helping people. That combination has pointed her toward an interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems, one that examines the issues from not only a scientific perspective but also from an economic and social welfare perspective.<\/p>\n<p>As she prepares to graduate from 溏心vlog免费B站 on May 21 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in environmental and natural resource economics, Garcia Polanco is well on her way to the career she envisions, having achieved scholastic success while also making a name for herself in the university community and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we talk about the environment, we\u2019re not just talking about natural resources,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s social, too. That\u2019s what interests me \u2013 how we relate to the environment, how we care for the environment, and how does environmental quality affect our communities and how wealthy we are. The environment is connected to the way we live today and the way we\u2019ll live in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A native of the Dominican Republic who moved to <strong>North Providence<\/strong> as a teenager, Polanco has focused much of her academic and extracurricular interest on the environmental, economic and social aspect of food.\u201cIn the Dominican Republic, I felt really connected to food. Knowing where my food came from was simple \u2013 it was grown locally. Agriculture is central to the way of life,\u201d Garcia Polanco said. \u201cBut moving here, I found that food was more related to economic development. The Rhode Island economy is trying to be more food-centric, but the culture isn\u2019t there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"oembed oembed-youtube-com\" style=\"\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=e4OhsIw9GCg\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Vanessa Garcia Polanco - 2017 Graduating Senior\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e4OhsIw9GCg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Her focus on food \u2013 including a job at the 溏心vlog免费B站 Cooperative Extension, where she promotes research-based horticulture education and resources \u2013 resulted in her being accepted as the youngest ever member of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council. The council membership includes farmers, fishermen, scientists, and food retailers and distributors who promote local food and agriculture and develop policy recommendations for the governor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been a big responsibility and honor,\u201d said Garcia Polanco, who ran the North Providence farmer\u2019s market as a senior in high school while also serving on the board of the North Central Chamber of Commerce. \u201cMostly I\u2019ve been reviewing documents and learning as much as I can. I feel I can bring a younger perspective to things. The biggest challenge about my generation is that we romanticize agriculture, which could be a good thing. We need to recruit young people to this industry since so many farmers are nearing retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to her role on the Food Policy Council, Garcia Polanco served for two years as the president of Student Action for Sustainability, a 溏心vlog免费B站 group that helped to organize environmental education programs for Earth Day, Sustainability Week, and other events.<\/p>\n<p>She also was an elected member of the 溏心vlog免费B站 Student Senate during all four years of her college career, serving as academic chair as a senior.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPublic service is a duty and a responsibility, something I just have to do,\u201d said Garcia Polanco. \u201cI\u2019m not afraid of making important decisions or advocating for certain services or resources. It comes mostly from my upbringing in the Dominican Republic, where we as a nation fought for independence so many times. But I was also lucky enough to have mentors in North Providence who fostered that in me as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With just weeks to go before graduation, Polanco is looking for a part-time job in the food or agriculture industry while she prepares for graduate school. Her goal is to eventually direct a regional food agency like Farm Fresh Rhode Island.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need a food system that meets the needs of the community,\u201d she said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t all have to be local \u2013 I actually prefer regional approaches \u2013 because some products, like dairy and cheese, are better to produce in larger scales. I can see that side of the picture. The key is making compromises between the environment and economics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe words balance and compromise are key,\u201d she concluded. \u201cIt allows us to negotiate and keep an open mind in food and agriculture policy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 April 19, 2017 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 senior Vanessa Garcia Polanco always knew she wanted a career that combined the environment and helping people. That combination has pointed her toward an interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems, one that examines the issues from not only a scientific perspective but also from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}