Fifty-five students benefit from Farm Bureau scholarships

» July 12, 2007 «

To encourage students planning agricultural careers, the California Farm Bureau Scholarship Foundation has granted scholarships to 55 students for the 2007-08 academic year. The foundation awarded scholarships totaling nearly $166,000 to students who submitted applications describing their academic achievements, leadership skills and commitment to study agricultural topics.

Following interviews with the applicants, the foundation awarded special honors to four students:

• Daniel Bays of Patterson earned the Howard P. Wackman II Perpetual Memorial Award, a scholarship of $2,750. Bays will be a sophomore at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in the fall, where he majors in BioResource and Agricultural Engineering. Upon graduation, he plans to join his father and grandfather on the family farm. The award is named for a late California Farm Bureau vice president.
• Wyatt McKean of Riverdale won the Frederick J. Heringer Honorary Award, a scholarship of $2,500. He will enter Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, in the fall as a crop science major and plans to farm on his family's diversified farm. The scholarship is named for the late CFBF president.
• Claire Brumley of Escalon earned the $2,250 Carolyn Richardson Memorial Award, named for the late CFBF environmental advocate. Brumley plans a career as an attorney representing agricultural clients on water and land-use issues. She will enter Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, as an agricultural business major.
• Kelsey Rugani of Linden received the John H. Wiechman Memorial Award. She will be a freshman at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a major in agricultural science and plans a career as an agricultural teacher. The $2,250 scholarship is given in memory of the late CFBF Leadership Development manager.

A fifth special scholarship category, the Rustici Livestock and Rangeland Scholarship Award, benefits students who plan a career in beef or sheep ranching or in range management and is aimed specifically at rangeland-management students. Eighteen students earned Rustici scholarships totaling $5,000 each: Benjamin Aguirre, Fillmore; Lauren Bowen, Hemet; Wayne Cockrell, Cedarville; Jessica Forster, Wilton; Melissa Green, Arbuckle; Danielle Groteguth, Elk Creek; Taylor Hagata, Susanville; Charles Hamilton, Rio Vista; Bradford Hanson, Susanville; Candace Kimmelshue, Durham; Annie Maddalena, Sierraville; Matthew Miller, Tracy; Louis Nash, Redding; Karl Plant, Scotia; Amber Reed, Scotia; Kaitlyn Spence, Grass Valley; Michael Tobias, Hollister; and Jasmine Westbrook, Dixon.

Another 33 students received California Farm Bureau Scholarship Foundation awards of $2,000 each: Karin Aschwanden, Galt; Brian Azevedo, Gustine; Colleen Bartlett, Elk Grove; Kelly Bishop, El Centro; Nicole Borges, Stockton; Thomas Bottoms, Escalon; Megan Brownell, Santa Maria; Katherine Camozzi, Petaluma; Rachel Conway, Ferndale; Mark Diener; Five Points; Sara Eidman, Grass Valley; Jason Ferreira, Tulare; Aileen Garcia, Arbuckle; Nicole Ghidinelli, Ferndale; Rachel Imbach, Canby; Cody Jacobsen, LeGrand; Megan Jacobsen, Fresno; Kellie Johnson, Etna; Kirk Kimmelshue, Durham; Jennifer Konschak, Turlock; Caitlin Lawrence, Modesto; Kyle McCullough, Arbuckle; Christina Menezes, Atwater; Diana Paasch, Grass Valley; Spencer Rietkerk, Corcoran; Katherine Robertson, Galt; Katharine Rosser, Marysville; Simmie Stayer, Palo Cedro; Kathryn Teixeira, Nipomo; Gary Valente, Lodi; Michelle Van Ryn, Manteca; Lindsay Walsh, Bakersfield; and Kristopher Welker, Fresno.

Founded in 1955, the California Farm Bureau Scholarship Foundation has awarded more than $1.2 million in scholarships since its inception.

The California Farm Bureau Federation, the state's largest farm organization, works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 92,000 members.

Contact: Dave Kranz
Phone: 916/561-5550
news@cfbf.com

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