Lauren Chuhta ’26: Fostering connection at the forefront of global change

You’re a double major in Global Development and Communication. What drew you to pursue these two fields of study? 

I grew up in a farm town with literally more cows than people. When I graduated high school, I was itching for something bigger, but I also knew I loved my place in agriculture. 

Being connected to food is grounding—it creates a sense of family over collaborative production, and I like the sense of service in fueling people. I found Global Development as a way to expand the borders of my ag interests, both topically to social science facets and geographically to new-to-me communities. 

The more I study Global Development, the larger niche I find storytelling to hold. How did Michael’s anecdotes reach our kitchen table? How did my parents learn about him, or his school’s need for books? Would my family have stayed connected to him without his stories? 

I study Communication because of these questions. By combining the technical skillsets in this major with the diverse empirical perspectives in Global Development, I focus on tangible areas for improvement in intercultural connection while building applicable interdisciplinary skills. 

You’re currently the co-president of the Global Development Student Advisory Board — what does this community means to you? 

I found the Global Development Student Advisory Board early in my time at CALS. The Board is an open forum to ideate and execute plans for a stronger undergraduate cohort and department at large. As a freshman, I found that so empowering. Now, as co-president, I love building up that platform for others in our major. 

Just this past October we launched our Big-Little program, a peer connection initiative we began designing last spring. It’s been really rewarding to hear about pairs connecting over dinners in Collegetown or long walks around campus. The Board facilitates undergrads to take their GDEV education into their own hands—for me, it’s allowed me to get a jumpstart on building skillsets in facilitating community connection.

What have been some of your most impactful projects you’ve worked on during your time at Cornell CALS? 

I didn’t think I’d like research—I thought I’d feel too removed from the people I want to work with—but I gave it a try this summer anyway. Through a research internship funded by the Polson Institute in Global Development, I worked with a small international team quantifying elements of food security and evaluating prior interventions in Mali. I worked remotely from Ithaca under Erika Styger and Aubryn Sidle. 

With their advice and direction, I learned how to coax anecdotes into statistics, and statistics into guidance for policy and intervention plans. The Douentza farmers whose stories we worked with never turned into numbers, even among compounding language translations and diagnostics. By summer’s end, we had individual stories elevated into community insights on gender roles, crop importance, and intervention reviews. 

How is your Communication major helping you to pursue your research goals? 

Even with an 8:40 A.M. start time, I’ve loved COMM 3010: Writing and Producing the Narrative for Digital Media. Professor Christopher Byrne keeps the class high energy and real-world oriented, emphasizing practice without ignoring the necessary theoretical and contextual backgrounds. The course is so hands-on. I’m not sure how I would have reacted a semester ago if someone asked me to produce a news feature or public service announcement, but I’m proud of what I’ve made this past semester, and I’m excited about what I can make in the future. 

I’ve already begun applying what I’ve learned in COMM 3010 through an independent study with Global Development. As a communications assistant, I highlight some of my colleague’s narratives, including their journeys as undergraduate researchers and pathways from the Peace Corps to graduate education. 

You’ve had a long-standing involvement in Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the World Food Prize Foundation (WFPF). What impact did your involvement leave on you? 

I didn’t grow up on a farm, but with FFA, there was a place in agriculture for me anyway. I found so much of what I love while wearing blue corduroy. I expanded my confidence in my place here by presenting speeches and research on community, and I expanded my community through wins and losses everywhere from Syracuse to Springfield to Indianapolis. 

FFA helped me find good people connected by food production. When senior year of high school came around, I knew that was the network I wanted to expand. That’s the network I’ve found through Global Development at CALS.

It was through FFA that I found the World Food Prize Foundation (WFPF) Youth Programs. I wrote my first real research paper sophomore year of high school, and through the WFPF’s series of youth institutes, I discussed my findings on water security with multiple cohorts of international peers. 

Through these dialogues, I began to see agriculture as global. CALS, which hosts the New York branch of the WFPF Youth Institutes, became a point of access to that global nexus, and that’s why I applied. Since I’ve been at CALS, I’ve transitioned to the student administration side of these programs, and each year I watch new cohorts of students make the same realizations.

Where do you see yourself going after Cornell? 

Government, community organizations, academia–I aim to spend some time in each after I graduate, building a career in cross-sectoral connection as well as intercultural. The short-term plan is to spend some time abroad, either through an academic fellowship or a service organization like the Peace Corps, to gain some international perspective before pursuing a position with a federal or non-governmental aid organization.