Fish farm earns CAL grad unique summer internship

     Though many of his friends have their sights set on college, recent CAL graduate Matt Ellis is eyeing a completely different adventure—a two-month trip to Penang, Malaysia.
     “I’m a little nervous,” he admitted. “I’ve never lived in a big city like that before, but at least I know where it’s located on a map now.”
     Ellis will travel to the southeast Asian country in June as part of the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship. Once there, the Alexander teen will join other students at the WorldFish Center and help develop aquaculture solutions for impoverished nations.
     The trip will cap off more than two years of hard work for Ellis, who helped spearhead the Tall Corn FFA Chapter’s aquaponics lab at CAL. The elaborate rig uses waste produced by farmed fish to supply nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, in turn purifying the water for reuse by the fish. 
     Read the full article in the May 18 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.