Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) at Virginia State University (VSU) is helping build healthier families and communities through nutrition education, food safety and youth wellness initiatives despite recent and real challenges facing Virginia families. Addison Caldwell is VSU’s Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program Extension associate in the family nutrition program. Serving with Extension for nearly three years, Caldwell combines her background in dietetics and nutrition with a passion for empowering young people to make healthier choices.
Caldwell is a proud Trojan who earned her Bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences with a concentration in dietetics. With personal experience witnessing nutrition-related chronic diseases, Caldwell felt driven to pursue further education and a career in the nutrition field. She took a position with VSU Extension while completing her master’s degree in nutrition, and quickly started bringing nutrition and healthy lifestyle education into local communities through Extension programming.
The 1890 Association of Research Directors (ARD) Biennial Research Symposium in New Orleans showcased the very best of Virginia State University (VSU)’s College of Agriculture, with award-winning student research, innovation, and mentorship on display. From oral presentations to the AgTech Hack-a-thon and data competition, the VSU delegation proudly demonstrated the many ways in which Greater Grows here.
The college’s success at the ARD Symposium reflects a broad team effort of research, Extension, academics, leadership and administration. Preparations for the event were long in the making, and the team’s hard work shone through professional-looking posters, engaging displays and fine-tuned oral presentations. VSU’s interactive display featuring hologram messages from COA students and leaders, along with bold research priorities, generated significant buzz at the symposium. Faculty and students presented research orally, and, notably, two VSU students earned top honors for their posters and oral presentations.
