Welcome to Mile Markers, a bimonthly newsletter about rural higher education. I’m Nick Fouriezos, an Open Campus national reporter who grew up at the crossroads of suburban Atlanta and the foothills of Appalachia.

Today’s Roadmap

01: Postcards: A young farmer’s recruitment

01: Postcards

College football teams have occasionally made headlines for offering scholarships to students as early as middle school.

But what about a 10-year-old getting an offer from an agriculture program?

Kendall Rae Johnson, whose accomplishments include being the youngest USDA-certified farmer in the United States, recently wrapped up a national tour of historically Black land-grant universities.

At the end, she walked away with something most high school seniors dream of: a full-ride scholarship offer.

The Atlanta resident received the surprise offer from South Carolina State University President Alexander Conyers during her visit to the Orangeburg campus, the final stop on her five-university tour.

"The best part of that trip was when they gave me the full ride scholarship," Kendall Rae told me. "It was just running through my mind at that point. Happiness, excitement, that someone believed in me enough to give me a full ride scholarship to college at the age of 10."

From Back Porch to Her Own Farm

Kendall Rae's farming journey began at age 3 with her great-grandmother Laura "Kate" Williams, who taught her to grow collard greens on their back porch.

By age 6, she had become Georgia's youngest certified farmer, and soon after, the youngest nationally.

Today, her farm — about an acre that originally belonged to her great-grandmother — produces everything from peaches and strawberries to beets and okra.

She's also developed her own products, including a marinara sauce and honey.

"I like helping the community out with fresh fruits and vegetables," she says. "I also like to travel and learn different farming techniques and how other people do it."

Her parents, Quentin and Ursula Johnson, have supported her agricultural passion despite having no farming background themselves.

"The last generation of farmers we had was maybe two generations ago," her father said. "We just said we'd support any idea our child had when we saw real active focus. She zeroed in on plants and wanting to grow things, so we just stuck behind it."

The University Tour Circuit

Kendall Rae's scholarship offer came at the end of touring land-grant HBCUs. The universities were established under the Second Morrill Act of 1890. (These universities are sometimes also known as 1890 institutions.)

The tour, organized in partnership with USDA's National Urban Agriculture Initiative and Virginia State University, took her to Virginia State, Tennessee State, Prairie View A&M, Southern University, and finally South Carolina State.

As USDA's National Urban Agriculture Youth Ambassador, Kendall Rae used the tour to promote agricultural education, financial literacy, and USDA youth loan programs.

"We came up with an idea: What if the teaching came from another kid?" her mother Ursula explains. The universities were eager to connect with young people interested in agriculture.

Each campus offered something different. At South Carolina State, Kendall Rae toured the university's 300-acre research farm in Olar, participated in a robotics workshop, and even got to drive a John Deere tractor.

"She got a chance to drive their million-dollar machine and learn how they check the weather," her mother recalls. "When you stand in their farm field, it's like a sand dune — it’s very different from what she has at home.”

Early Investment in Talent

The 1890 Agriculture Innovation Scholarship (currently valued at $83,500) covers full tuition, fees, and room and board at SC State. For Conyers, the offer represents an investment in exceptional potential.

"We were genuinely inspired by Kendall Rae's focus and maturity," Conyers said in a statement. "It's not every day you meet a 10-year-old who talks about microorganisms, crop counts and longhorn cattle. She's remarkable."

For Kendall Rae's parents, the scholarship offer provides both security and validation.

"It's almost like they're investing in her and in us," her mother says. "Telling us parents, “You don't have to worry about school, because there's an offer on the table, but we want that child to thrive in what it is they believe in."

It also reflects what might be a broader shift of academics taking a more aggressive approach to recruiting top talent, in ways more often seen on the football field or tech giants.

Just like a smaller football program may extend scholarship offers earlier in order to stand out and build a longer relationship with a student, universities may begin exercising similar strategies to standouts in other arenas.

"If you don't go back and encourage kids when they are younger, you might find it harder to attract them to your program," Ursula says.

Building the Pipeline

Kendall Rae’s tour reflected a broader strategy by the universities to cultivate interest in agriculture among young people.

These HBCUs have long served rural communities, but attracting the next generation of agricultural leaders requires reaching students early.

Though she's currently a homeschooled fourth-grader going into fifth grade, Kendall Rae told SC State that she already has big plans.

"How big is the farm I want? I want at least 100 acres. And I want a longhorn, baby.”

Whether or not she actually chooses SC State down the line, the scholarship offer represents something new in higher education: recognizing and investing in exceptional young talent, regardless of age.

"Kendall Rae is driven, focused and passionate about making a difference," President Conyers said. "She represents the type of leader South Carolina State is proud to invest in — and we'll be ready when she is."

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