Junior Honored with Citizen Scholar Book Award 

This spring, Alexis Rollings ’23 was awarded the University of Vermont 2022 Citizen Scholar Book Award. She was nominated by the FWCD College Counseling Office and was recognized during Upper School announcements on Wednesday, May 18. Putting knowledge into action for the betterment of humanity is at the foundation of a University of Vermont education. The Citizen Scholar Book Award celebrates high school students around the U.S. who demonstrate that spirit of citizenship and scholarship.

They may have campaigned for a cause, founded a community action group, or conducted research aiding social progress. These students are the movers, shakers, and change-makers of the world. Rollings was nominated for her involvement with the Rollings Foundation (RF), which aims to give people better access to nutritious food. The foundation wants people to know where their next meal is coming from and have a longer-term solution to fight hunger.

Over the course of her high school years, Rollings has become more interested in the RF’s food security efforts. She developed a survey to assess the food security needs of low-income and elderly community members in Durban, South Africa. “The survey revealed that people skipped meals, and it was tough to meet their food needs due to job loss and lack of transportation to get to the grocery store,” she said. “In response to the survey, I assisted in identifying a local female-owned small business to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to families in need for nine months. In this new partnership, the foundation sponsors the food packages, which helps the community and supports a small business at the same time.” 

Rollings also identified an opportunity for a new collaboration between the foundation, a nonprofit organization in South Africa, and a local farmer. “I coordinated with the Siyakhana Initiative for Ecological Health and Food Security to help train a local farmer in learning about sustainable agriculture and food security practices in South Africa,” Rollings said. 

As a result, the foundation sponsored a six-week training course for the farmer, and the course was certified by the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. “Since the course was instructor-led virtual training, I also completed the course with the farmer to improve my knowledge and familiarity with these issues,” she noted. “After completing the course, the farmer aimed to incorporate the training to implement more environmentally friendly practices at his farm. He also plans to disseminate that information into his own community to help local schools use sustainable agriculture practices in their own gardens.”

In addition to her work with RF, Rollins also volunteers with Austin-based nonprofit Rainforest Partnership to conduct research with college students about the beef industry to teach other people about the environmental impacts of beef and cattle. 

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