Connecting food, water and policy: One undergrad's path to a meaningful major
Student Profile: Tim Leavy, Agribusiness Economics and Management
When you ask Tim Leavy, an Agribusiness Economics and Management student, why he didn’t choose a broader economics or business degree, he says, “I like that our [CALES] degrees are a little bit more narrowed down. They’re focused on one specific thing, which is agriculture, an umbrella that goes over water resource allocation and the environment.”
A full-time student in his mid-30s, Tim originally began as an English major at NAU. After a winding journey in the workforce, he returned to his undergraduate studies with purpose and passion, proving that there’s no single “right” path to college.
A nontraditional path to the U of A
Looking back at his NAU experience, Tim can see how it wasn’t the right time or program for him. After a year and a half of classes, he took a step back from his coursework and began working as a bartender. But when the service industry shuttered during the COVID-19 crisis, he found himself out of work.
Taking this as a sign to explore other paths, Tim enrolled in St. Louis Community College, near his home at the time. He took classes to raise his GPA, and when his wife was hired as an instructor at the U of A, Tim applied to the university and was accepted.
Tim’s adviser at the time, Danielle Buhrow, worked with him to transfer courses, and provided support and “hand-holding” (“I was freaking out,” he admitted). Reflecting on the choice to go back to school, Tim shared, “Yeah, it's terrifying, but it's like the best decision I've ever made in my life. I mean, aside from getting married,” he added with a laugh. “As an older student, I'm actually energized by sitting through class. And doing well on a test, or doing well in the class generally, became super rewarding.”
A family legacy
Tim and his grandfather at an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game.
Tim, like all students, had to make the difficult decision: Which major? The answer was inspired, at least in part, by Tim’s own family history.
Originally from County Meath in Ireland, Tim’s grandfather and extended family worked as butchers. After immigrating to the United States, Tim’s family started a wholesale food distribution company. He grew up hearing about USDA reports, the cattle industry and agricultural market forecasts. It seemed fate that he would also work in the food industry.
Tim’s background fueled a passion for agriculture and business, and his introductory economics classes just confirmed his interest. That’s how he found the Agribusiness Economics and Management program.
Buried in opportunities
From Sustaining Life: The Global Economy of Food to Economic Analysis of Water, Food & Environmental Policies, Tim can’t pick a favorite class. Each course made an impact on his journey and connected him to life-changing faculty and subjects.
Tim's cohort in the Equitable Agriculture Fellowship
In summer 2025, Tim was encouraged by Jeff Michler and Anna Josephson to join their Equitable Agriculture Fellowship at UC Santa Barbara. Students researched and analyzed a current agricultural policy issue, hypothesized a solution and presented the data. They used the econometric and statistical analysis skills they’d gained in their coursework – including some coding – to solve actual problems.
Now, Tim works in the U of A AIDE lab, alongside Michler, Josephson and a small team, to train AI models to better identify different variables in research papers and case studies.
Additionally, Professor Laurel Bellante, who taught Tim’s Food Justice, Ethics & Activism class, encouraged him to apply for a paid internship in summer 2025 – a research position for the Pima County Food Alliance. Tim’s role was to strategize and present a plan to reduce food waste in the community.
Tim offers this advice to fellow students: go to office hours. Whether you need help with a specific question or just want to chat with someone in your field of interest, your professors are a wealth of information and options.
“I ended up getting all these different opportunities over the past year because I was chatting with one of my professors, and the minute I left her office, my inbox just started getting hit with things. Like, here's this internship, here's this research opportunity… Put your foot in the door. They'll bury you in opportunities if you ask them to. They just are waiting for students to ask.”
Even with a very full plate, Tim has earned Dean’s List every semester at the U of A and was awarded the Hollis A. Dixon Scholarship, the Pistor-Stanley Scholarship and the AgCat Open Student Scholarship.
Up next: Act locally, think globally
Looking ahead, Tim doesn’t see himself confined to a career in just business or just environmental management, saying, “I see them all connected, like our food system is directly tied to environmental degradation, which is tied to water resources.”
He feels drawn to communication and policy, stressing the importance of economic analyses in creating a more sustainable future. He hopes to act locally and think globally.
Currently, Tim is interested in applying for graduate programs, including the CALES M.S. in Applied Economics and Policy Analysis, after graduating in spring 2026. As a first-gen student, Tim is poised to become the first college graduate in his immediate family and looks forward to carrying on his family’s legacy while following his own path.
Learn more about the Agribusiness Economics and Management program here.