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For Sadie Lackey, graduating college during a global pandemic was never part of the plan. Nor was being diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma nearly three years later at age 25. Lackey’s cancer diagnosis meant shifting her goals into strategic career decisions based on her health — all while maintaining her passion for agricultural policy. “I really love ag policy, and I love that I’m surrounded by it and get to nerd out and learn every day, but it’s also important to look at your career holistically,” Lackey said.

The Congressional Agricultural Fellowship is a transformative program for students in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, offering unique opportunities to engage with the legislative process and gain practical experience in agricultural policy. In partnership with the offices of U.S. representatives Sanford Bishop, Austin Scott, Buddy Carter and Raphael Warnock, CAES offers a prestigious 12-week summer fellowship program that provides selected students with firsthand exposure to the legislative process and the creation of agriculture policy. 

An innovator in peanut breeding whose research revitalized an industry and an ardent champion of agricultural education were inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame at the 68th University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association Awards in Athens. The 2024 honorees are William D. Branch, Georgia Seed Development Professor in Peanut Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Elzie Argene Claxton, an agriculture educator and 1980 CAES agricultural education graduate.