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OUTSTANDING STUDENT Franz Stuppard
Written By: Meredith Epstein
Every spring before graduation, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) Alumni Network selects winners for their Outstanding Student Awards. One student is chosen for each academic department in AGNR. For 2023, they unanimously selected Franz Stuppard as the winner for the IAA.
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As an Air Force veteran, a board member for several nonprofits, and a recent retiree from the federal government, Stuppard was already very well accomplished when he began his studies at the Institute of Applied Agriculture. He was - and remains - on a mission to hone his skills in sustainable and regenerative agriculture so that he can revitalize his family’s farm in Haiti, doing his part to lift his home country out of poverty.
Stuppard finds value in anything and everything – and helps others to do the same. Whether it is in the classroom, on a field trip, around Jull Hall, at an AGNR event, networking in the local community, or on an international trip, Stuppard is spreading the good word about the IAA and UMD. Notably, he completed his summer internship at the Rodale Institute in Kutztown, PA and participated in a winter study abroad of Nicaraguan agriculture. Rodale’s Veteran Farmer Training Program allowed Stuppard to connect with military veterans entering the agricultural industry nationwide and gave him hands-on experience in organic crop production. In Nicaragua, Stuppard and other UMD undergraduate students provided technical assistance to Nicaraguan farmers and learned about tropical crop and livestock production systems.
“Whether we live in an industrialized or developing country, food insecurity is a challenge that a lot of us are facing. The two-year program at IAA gave me the necessary tools to face that challenge head-on,” says Stuppard. And we know that he has truly put those tools to use from day one – whether by building a birdhouse for his wife or organizing a meeting with the Nicaraguan Ambassador to the United States and recently joining the Ambassador on a second trip to the country. The IAA is incredibly proud of his accomplishments. Congratulations, Franz!
