Leila Heidari is planting seeds for the health of children, adults

Leila Heidari's resumé reads like of those of a corporate executive.

The major difference is that Heidari is a student at the University of South Carolina – albeit a very accomplished student. A Carolina Scholar and a South Carolina Honors College student, Heidari is pursuing the Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae in Environmental Health degree, with focus areas of study in environmental studies, public health, biology and psychology. She will graduate in May.

For her Honors College thesis, "Developing a sustainable after-school gardening program that emphasizes nutrition and environmental education," Heidari has worked with Dr. Christine Blake of the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior and Dr. Sarah Rothenberg of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. Her research has been supported by a grant from USC's Magellan Scholar program, a grant from the Richland County Conservation District, and USC's Student Sustainability Fund.

Over the past year, Heidari has led an after-school community gardening program at Joseph Keels Elementary School in northeast Columbia. Heidari says the students have become enthusiastic and eager to learn about fruits and vegetables. Currently, they "are so excited about kale."

Through Heidari's own skills as teacher and friend of the environment, the students are learning about nutrition and the role of choosing good foods for their health.

"They are so eager, and they want to ask questions," she said. "They love learning about vegetables and trying out recipes with those vegetables. We are growing organic and heirloom vegetables. These are unique. The students have been fascinated with the purple carrots."

Her interest in community gardening began with a course in service learning that she took with Blake. She presented the idea for the gardening program to Joseph Keels Elementary School, which was looking for an after-school program for students. Her idea was a good fit.

Even when she leaves USC, the elementary school's teachers will continue to the keep the garden over the summer, and the students will work to keep it up throughout the academic year. Heidari's work with the program also has been to study changes in nutrition and environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of the participating students. She also has focused on analyzing and evaluating the concentrations of heavy metals in school gardens.

"This has been a wonderful experience," said Heidari, recently named a finalist in USC's Outstanding Woman of the Year awards program.

Heidari has developed a solid research background at USC. This past summer, Heidari was a summer fellow at the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health in Atlanta and worked with Dr. Melissa Carter of the CDC's Emergency Response Branch. In the summer of 2012, she was a research intern at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard Medical School through the National Science Foundation's CELEST Program (Centers for Excellence in Learning in Education, Science, and Technology).

The recipient of an Undergraduate Research Fellowship at USC, Heidari worked with researcher Dr. Tim Mousseau on the ecological effects of radioactive contamination from the nuclear disasters in Chernobyl in the Ukraine and Fukushima, Japan. She also studied neurodevelopmental disorders in young children with Dr. Jane Roberts, director of the School Pyschology Program at USC.

Her achievements have been recognized through numerous awards and honors. She is the recipient of a Rotary International grant to study abroad and was USC's campus nominee for a Truman Scholarship. A Palmetto Fellow at USC, Heidari has been on the President's Honor List and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, Carolina Scholars Association and Alpha Lamda Delta.

Heidari is president of the Honors Council at S.C. Honors College and has planned and organized cultural, academic and service events for the college. She serves on the University Committee on South Carolina Honors College Policy and has been part of USC's Sustainable Carolina Food Team, Green Learning Community, Committee on Academic Responsibility, Emerging Leaders Program and Pillars for Carolina.

Like many other students from the Midlands, Heidari originally had her sights set on going out of state for college. "I was not aware of the many opportunities that are here," she said. "But coming to campus and going on a tour and being nominated for a Carolina Scholar award opened my eyes to the many opportunities that I could have at Carolina. USC became my No. 1 choice."

As she looks ahead to graduation and future graduate studies, Heidari said, "The experience of these four years has been wonderful because of the people I've met and my professors and advisers. I cannot imagine having had such a fulfilling academic experience anywhere else."

Her dream job is "to connect research with a population or community and to connect that with policy recommendations. I want to work in a field in which I can make a difference in the health of others."

She already is accomplishing this: Who ever knew fourth and fifth graders could want to know so much about kale!