We did it! The Humphrey team and our 2020-21 Fellows persevered during a turbulent year full of unknown crossroads and program pivots. Not only did we all face challenges from the global pandemic, but I was scaling the steep learning curve of my new role as associate director – a position that had been embodied by the great Francine Jasper for 27 years. I’m someone who enjoys a dash of adventure and spontaneity in my workdays; the 2020-21 year delivered, and then some.
It is a joy to be part of the Humphrey Fellowship Program team. With a background in conservation biology and several years of experience in international development and education, I’m spoiled being part of the Humphrey team. Here I get to meet, learn from, and collaborate with new international experts each year across fields of natural resource management, agriculture, and rural development.
Our team approached the year prioritizing frequent communication, ambitious yet flexible plans, camaraderie with the Fellows, and a collective “roll with it” mentality. We experimented with different models of teaching, developed a novel multi-campus seminar series with sister universities, and embarked on new field trips.
This year, the 2020-21 Fellows arrived in Ithaca in the deep freeze of winter rather than the sunny summer embrace of standard years. They did not run, and they did not complain (much). Instead, they hunkered down, they Zoomed, and they got to work. With admirable grit, optimism, and a sense of urgency, the Fellows undertook 10 months’ worth of work in little more than half the amount of time. They accomplished all of this while delivering seminars, taking workshops, participating in field trips, and enrolling in loads of Cornell academic courses to boot!
