Lund Fellows Program for Regenerative Agriculture

Willa Gagnon

Major: Environment and Sustainability

Farm location: Ithaca, NY

My name is Willa Gagnon and I am a rising junior majoring in Environment and Sustainability. This summer, I will be working at Dilmun Hill Student Organic Farm. I am excited to be part of the Lund Fellowship, learning about student connections with the farming community in Ithaca and at Cornell. I am looking forward to growing many varieties of tomatoes, hosting community dinners, and working with other students who share a passion for food systems.

Bryan Wilcenski

Major: Environment and Sustainability

Farm location: Van Etten, NY

Hello! My name is Bryan Wilcenski, and I am a rising senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. I am an Environment and Sustainability Major with a concentration on Natural Resource Management and Governance. I applied to the Lund Fellowship Program seeking exposure to small-scale sustainable agriculture and the chance to spend a summer working outside in the elements. I recently shifted my academic and professional trajectories towards regenerative agriculture and this fellowship offers a great opportunity to learn about farm management in an educational setting.

Manuella Nia Wangari Adriko

Majors: Global Development and Agricultural Sciences

Farm location: Brooklyn, NY

My name is Manuella Mia Wangari Adriko, and I'm a freshman from Kampala, Uganda. I'm pursuing a double major in Global Development and Agricultural Sciences. My farm placement is Oko Farms, Brooklyn, New York. I'm excited to watch, and hopefully, help run Oko's youth education workshops.

Meghan Barr

Major: Global Development

Farm location: Brooklyn, NY

My name is Meghan Barr and I am first year global development major from Queens, NY. This summer I will be working for Red Hook farms in Brooklyn, NY. I am especially interested in urban agriculture which initially inspired me to choose Red Hook farms, however, I also really appreciate their education and food focus in the work that they do. I am excited to gain more firsthand farm experience and to get to know the Red Hook community.

Nick Methner

Major: Agriculture Science

Farm location: Kinderhook, NY

My name is Nick Methner, I will be graduating in 2024 from Cornell. I grew up in Mt. Prospect, Illinois and had gone to community college and worked on farms in the area before coming to Cornell as a Junior transfer. This summer I'll be at Roxbury Farm in Kinderhook, NY, of which I feel very privileged to be apart as they are a well-known organic vegetable and meat CSA.

Gio Rodriguez

Major: Global Development

Farm location: Lacona, NY

Hello, my name is Gio Rodriguez, and I am a student in the class of 2026 from San Diego, CA. I’ll be majoring in Global Development with a minor in Latino Studies. This summer, I will be working with the Syracuse Agricultural Refugee Program to support New Americans beginning their agricultural passions to farm and promoting naturally grown, culturally appropriate produce. I chose this farm placement because of its community. I connected with it based on my own social identities and experience as a Research Assistant focusing on undocu/DACAmented individuals in the United States. In my work, I hypothesized that an undocu/DACAmented person and a refugee had similar intersectionalities between the two; therefore, this placement would allow me to view the extent to which their experiences here in the United States are similar. I am super excited about the multicultural interactions with my host farm placement, and to learn about the the different cultural backgrounds that come with producing food and its value to their home societies.

Mateo Valdillez

Major: Environment and Sustainability

Farm location: Ithaca, NY

My name is Mateo Valdillez, Class of 2025, and I am from the Bay Area, California. I am majoring in Environment and Sustainability with a minor in Latino Studies and will be at the Youth Farm Project for this upcoming summer. I have a passion for working with students and youth and the Youth Farm project is the perfect opportunity to bridge my passions with my studies, focusing on the intersection of learning from the youth, environmental justice, and agroecology. I can't wait to get to know everyone involved in the summer program and I look forward to serving the community through a program as incredible as the Youth Farm Project.

Catherine Hung

Major: Civil Engineering

Farm location: Bronx, NY

My name is Catherine Hung and I am a senior studying Civil Engineering with minors in Architecture and Business. As someone who is passionate about sustainable development, I am excited to combine my interests in engineering, agriculture, and community development with a focus on environmental protection. This summer, I will be returning to the Bronx River Alliance and working to protect, improve and restore the Bronx River corridor. I am excited to support the Foodway in creating a healthy ecological, recreational, educational, and economic resource.