Growing the Future

The University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is an engine of scientific discovery, with researchers working across the spectrum of agricultural and life sciences. Academically, the college offers research-based, hands-on teaching of undergraduates; world-class graduate programs rich in research and project assistantships; and short courses, workshops and other programs. Our outreach activities bring the work of the college to Wisconsin businesses, organizations and communities throughout the state. Learn more about CALS.

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I thought I was going to stay in Colombia and go to a university and study medicine… Although it’s a wonderful career, there’s a ton of doctors out there already. If I worked to be a doctor, I could only treat patient by patient. If I go into public health, or a similar career, I could impact thousands of people.

CALS Faces

Natalia Betancourt Rodriguez

For much of her life, Natalia Betancourt Rodriguez BSx’24 never imagined leaving Colombia. But after a series of experiences in high school showed her the large equality gap in access to health care around the world, especially among women of color, she decided she needed to do something about it. A high school teacher told her about UW–Madison’s King-Morgridge Scholarship Program. The program was created as an opportunity for students with a passion for poverty alleviation from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia to receive four-year scholarships to study at UW. It drew Betancourt to Wisconsin where she is now double majoring in biochemistry and global health. She also leads a team within AI4Afrika, a program that aims to bring artificial intelligence (AI) technology to communities where it’s lacking. The group’s first project is a chatbot, run through an organization called Care International, that is designed to educate girls in Ethiopian communities about sexual and menstrual health, topics that can be taboo in these areas. Read more: go.wisc.edu/a8tuky

Scholarships awarded in 2022-23

CALS students in 2023-24

Agricultural Hall on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus

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