Augusta Halle has a theory about why America’s food system is struggling to move forward, one she tested over more than 3,500 miles in May. There is no shortage of good science or good economics. The problem is that the two rarely talk to each other.
“I think there are so many incredible scientists working on the ground,” says Augusta, a rising third-year Commerce major, “and there are so many people doing incredible economic research, but they are like two languages that are not able to converse with each other.”
The route for the “Roots on the Road” tour began in Seattle and ended in Washington, DC, traversing a dozen states. (Illustration by Peyton Sorah, University Communications)
That observation is the foundation of “Roots on the Road,” a cycling journey from Seattle, WA, to Washington, DC, where Augusta and her five-person team met farmers, policymakers, and food producers across 12 states. What she is trying to become, through the project and through her time at McIntire, is someone who can speak both.
The starting point is how she thinks. While working through case analyses in preparation for consulting interviews, Augusta landed on a phrase that captures what she is after: “curious but structured.” She says that combination has changed how she approaches conversations and expects to carry it directly into the field.
Numbers come next, but they have not always come easily for her. Coursework in quantitative analysis and information systems has pushed Augusta into territory that felt uncomfortable at first.
“I can candidly say I am not a numbers person,” she says. “But I think that is what is needed to be able to have those conversations, to translate those two languages.”
Beyond the quantitative, there is another layer of translation.
Augusta intends to major in Mandarin Chinese as well, and she’s spending time this summer at East China Normal University in Shanghai to improve her skills. The experience of learning a third language has deepened her sense of what moving between worlds actually requires. Commerce gave her the language of business. Mandarin gave her the discipline of translation. Together, they shape how she understands her role: not as a scientist or an economist, but as someone who helps each make sense to the other.
Two McIntire courses have been particularly useful in developing that capacity. Management of Decision Making and Management of Communication have shaped not just how she processes information, but how she delivers it to people who think differently than she does.
“They have allowed me to figure out how best to communicate not only what I am thinking, but how best to communicate with others,” she says.
That emphasis on communication runs through every part of “Roots on the Road.” The team explored a wide range of the food system, staying on farms, meeting with state agriculture officials, and speaking with corporate executives, all within 29 days. The content they produced, including short-form videos, a documentary series, and a children’s book distributed through agricultural organizations, is designed to put farmers in conversation with the people who eat their food. Augusta credits McIntire Professor Sherri Moore with shaping how she thinks about that kind of storytelling.
“Her presence and her ability to tell stories have really inspired the way in which we want to tell stories,” Augusta says. “We want to be able to capture people’s stories and make them feel heard, seen, and understood.”
Even the fundraising has been a form of translation, converting a vision into the support and resources needed to make it real. Raising $30,000 while managing coursework and travel has been one of the hardest parts of the process, and Augusta is direct about it.
“As a McIntire student, I think we know that money talks, and it’s definitely been a challenge to manage,” she says. “But it’s honestly been so incredible to see the network that’s been able to help and the lessons that I’ve been able to learn from all of the different people that have contributed.”
When the team arrived in Washington, DC, in early June, their goal was not to have answered any large questions, however. They aimed to open a conversation between parts of the food system that do not often find themselves in the same room. The road, for Augusta, is where those two languages begin to meet.
