We are excited to welcome Silvana Orta as The Organic Center's newest intern! A student at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Silvana brings a strong interest in sustainability and the connections between farming, community health, and environmental stewardship.

Silvana Orta is a junior majoring in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems. Growing up in South Texas, where agriculture is deeply woven into everyday life, she developed a strong interest in how food is grown and how farming practices impact the environment. Through her internship, Silvana will develop a resource highlighting best practices for encouraging pollinator diversity in organic gardens throughout the Rio Grande Valley.

Her internship is part of The Organic Center's broader effort to expand understanding of career pathways in organic agriculture while building technical, teamwork, critical thinking, and communication skills. This experience is an example of the types of unique partnerships The Organic Center aims to build for students from various backgrounds to prepare them for a wide range of careers in agriculture, within and beyond academia.

We look forward to the energy and perspective Silvana will bring to The Organic Center!

Interested in working with us or supporting this program? Please reach out to The Organic Center’s Manager of Science Programs, Dr. Elias Miller, at emiller@organic-center.org.

To learn more about The Organic Center’s internship programs and to see the work of past fellows and interns, visit our Future of Organic website.