Dedicated to the Future Demonstrating commitment to the future of agriculture, each year GENEX awards scholarships to college students pursuing degrees in agriculture. These students are actively involved on a member’s farm or ranch and exhibit a passion of leading the way in the agriculture industry. The five recipients of this year’s $750 GENEX Collegiate Scholarship exemplify the drive, dedication and devotion agriculture requires. Their responses to the lessons they learned from their involvement in agriculture are proof:
Leif Annexstad St. Peter, Minnesota Animal Science University of Minnesota “My time on the farm has taught me many things. I’ve learned about animal nutrition by talking to our nutritionist and about animal health by visiting with our veterinarian. I’ve learned even more from conversations with my dad and uncles, including to be patient with animals as well as people.”
Justin Engebretsen Gillett, Wisconsin Agricultural Engineering University of Wisconsin-River Falls “Agriculture is an industry that will always be important because humans need food and other animal by products. One of the lessons I learned from my agricultural involvement is hard work always pays off.”
Jack McCrory Linton, North Dakota Agriculture Economics North Dakota State University
Eric Ranke Waterford, Wisconsin Dairy Science University of Wisconsin-Platteville “There is no doubt agriculture is the single greatest influencer of who I am today. Agriculture is the most diverse, important and sustainable industry we have; we must protect and advocate for its future.”
Ellen Schilderink Hart, Texas Agribusiness-Dairy Management Tarleton State University “Agriculture is the way I grew up and how I Iive every day. My work ethic and determination to get the job done came from countless hours on our dairy.” “We are proud to support youth who are interested in furthering their education and commitment to agriculture,” states Terri Dallas, GENEX Vice President of Member Relations. “Not only do these students understand the importance of agriculture, they are tremendous advocates as well.”
These students are a promise to a bright future in agriculture. The hard work, passion and leadership skills needed for the agriculture industry is not lost on these students. In their applications they described opportunities that helped them grow, such as study abroad programs, working as an assistant research student, attending leadership conferences, delivering Meals on Wheels, taking advanced placement classes to push themselves academically, spearheading educational events to spread agriculture awareness and managing critical roles on the operations where they work.
“Agriculture has a way of helping “These students are a promise to a bright future in people push themselves to develop agriculture,” states Terri. “Along with their exceptional skills and make decisions that will leadership, the heart and determination they demonstrate sends a strong message that tomorrow’s agriculture is in have positive life-long impacts. These connections, no matter how small or distant, always leave a lasting impact.” good hands.”
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