Graduate Student Photo Directory

Kevin Thierry Affoukou is a doctoral candidate who is passionate about rural households’ welfare in developing countries. He also investigates how education, communication, and information and communication technology (ICT) contribute to alleviating critical issues such as food, nutrition, and revenue security. Affoukou has an MS in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University and has worked for more than five years as a research assistant on issues related to technology adoption, food security, and gender in agriculture. He has contributed to writing many scientific reports and papers and has participated in several conferences.

My pronouns: he/him/his

Mavis Akom is a doctoral student under the supervision of Dr. Julia Bello-Bravo. Akom's research interests are in communication, program development for farmers, and promoting youth interest in STEM. Akom has an MS in Agroforestry and has more than fourteen years of experience in agricultural research. She has written and contributed to various scientific publications and participated in several conferences.

Mariah Awan is a doctoral student who is passionate about extension education, program evaluation, youth and adult leadership development, STEM education, and mindfulness. Awan has an MS in agricultural and extension education from Penn State University and has worked for two years as a research assistant with STEM education in both formal and non-formal educational settings. Awan has contributed to writing 12 scientific papers and has contributed to 12 poster presentations for academic conferences. She is a student member of the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) and the National Association of Extension Program & Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP).

Kelsey is a Doctoral student in Purdue’s Department of Agricultural Science Education and Communication. She is specializing in science communication and is advised by Dr. Linda Pfeiffer. Kelsey is passionate about how to improve the function of interdisciplinary and demographically diverse teams of experts and publics in the development of climate change solutions. She has a Master’s in mechanical engineering and has worked at Argonne National Laboratory for a year aiding in the assessment of hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels. Her current research involves understanding the role of Responsible Research and Innovation in the development of emerging technologies for rural and agricultural contexts.

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Zachary C. Brown is a doctoral candidate. In addition to his academic pursuits, he is Assistant Director of Student Recruitment and Retention for Purdue Agriculture's Office of Multicultural Programs. His dissertation research is centered on exploring the sense of belonging among Black undergraduate students within agricultural disciplines. He employs narrative inquiry as his methodological approach.

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Oluwatosin Benjamin Fakunle is a MS student. He is a graduate research assistant in the department where he focuses on exploring and identifying work environments and characteristics that attract future agricultural employees — with a particular focus on Generation Z. He also conducts formal evaluation on teacher professional development with a two-pronged approach to address the needs of Indiana agriculture teachers. The National FFA funds both the research and evaluation. Fakunle is a member of the American Association for Agricultural Education. Before joining Purdue, he was a member of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria. Fakunle has participated and presented in several conferences and has won many awards and scholarships.

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Ken Fuelling is a master's student who is interested in increasing the sense of belonging for underrepresented youth, such as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and students with disabilities in agricultural education. Fuelling uses the critical pedagogy of agriculture as a lens for their work (Hartmann & Martin, 2021). Fuelling has worked with Dr. Sarah LaRose as a research and teaching assistant on topics surrounding utilizing laboratory spaces and increasing senses of belonging in school-based agricultural education (SBAE). Fuelling has a BS in Agricultural Education from Purdue. He has contributed to writing extension papers, analyzing data for research, and has presented at several conferences and workshops.

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Hema Lingireddy is a doctoral student under the advisement and supervision of Dr. Rama Radhakrishna and Dr. Linda Pfeiffer. Lingireddy is passionate about extension education, needs assessment, program design and evaluation, and science communication. During her master’s at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Dairy Research Institute, she assessed farmers’ perspectives on digital technologies. Later, she was a research intern at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India, where she was involved in training farmers on various digital tools. Lingireddy is a 2023 Andrews Graduate Fellow awardee for the Purdue College of Agriculture, which recognizes the academic excellence of outstanding PhD-track students. Lingireddy is a student member of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE).

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Aimable MUGABO is a P.h.D student under the supervision of Dr. Julia Bello-Bravo. Aimable’s research interest lies in interdisciplinary approaches to rural farming, informal and formal youth engagement, leadership building and mediums for effective communication and education. Aimable holds a master's in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University, Massachusetts. Aimable has over a dozen years of experience working with rural farmers to improve their agricultural practices and increase their income. Aimable plans to focus on developing educational programs for future agricultural leaders that enhance management and community engagement skills.

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Olivier Ntaganzwa is a master's student who is passionate about using food systems projects to engage high school students, and about integrating food systems to promote balanced nutrition and sustainable livelihoods in rural areas of East Africa. He has a BS in crop science and has worked in community journalism and youth literacy. He also has worked in advertising, focusing his copywriting skills on brands that targeted farmers and rural communities. As a research assistant at Purdue, Ntaganzwa works for a mentorship project that promotes enrollment and retention of underrepresented minorities in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences majors in 11 land-grant universities across the United States. He has contributed to writing five research abstracts and has participated in four conferences.

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Elizabeth Ogar is a PhD student who specializes in agricultural education under the supervision of Drs. Hui-Hui Wang and Neil Knobloch. Ogar’s interest lies in youth motivation in agriculture through learner-centered teaching, STEM integration, teacher professional development, curriculum, and instruction. As a research assistant in the IN-VISION (INdustry-driVen Integrated STEM and Systems Approach to Innovative incubatION) project, she is interested in evaluating the impact of the project on teachers’ motivations to teach integrated STEM and students’ outcomes. Ogar has an MS in Agricultural Extension from University of Ilorin, Nigeria, with seven years of experience working in extension.

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Favour Ojike is a master's student who is passionate about agricultural programming that targets different audiences. Ojike has a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and Technology and has worked for about five years in the fields of agricultural extension, education, and programming. As a research assistant, she works under the supervision of Dr. Casey Mull to determine the impact of Indiana 4-H college readiness outcomes; support the development of a 21st-century agricultural workforce; and contribute to the evaluation of 4-H-related programs.

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JJ Sadler is a doctoral student and has been an associate director in the Purdue Office of Undergraduate Research since 2017. In the associate director role, he supports undergraduate students to locate, apply, and succeed in research; oversees the various research events; and teaches multiple courses. Sadler is interested in the quality and quantity of experiential learning activities undergraduate students conduct, especially students from marginalized populations at predominantly white institutions. He has an MS in environmental horticulture with a focus on experiential learning from the University of Florida. At Florida, he was a research assistant and mentor to multiple undergraduate students and managed an invitro plant biology lab. Sadler has presented his work at multiple conferences on in vitro biology and undergraduate research.

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Mathew Smith is a doctoral candidate whose research has focused on understanding how agricultural educators learn to develop curricula to understand better how to support and improve the quality of agricultural education preservice programs. In so doing, Smith hopes we can better support current and future agricultural educators. Smith has an MS in agricultural education from Tennessee State University and has taught hundreds of students secondary agricultural education for three years.