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Eight Midwest Students Receive National Dairy Board Scholarship

Scholarships awarded to students who have shown potential to become future dairy leaders

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The national dairy checkoff has awarded 13 academic scholarships to college students enrolled in programs that emphasize dairy and who have shown potential to become future dairy leaders. Eight of the winners come from farms located within Midwest Dairy’s 10-state region.

The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB), through Dairy Management Inc., which manages the national dairy checkoff, annually awards $2,500 scholarships to each student. In addition, the NDB awards a $3,500 James H. Loper Jr. Memorial Scholarship to one outstanding scholarship recipient.

The eight $2,500 scholarship winners with Midwest ties are:

  • Christy Achen of Lakin, Kan. Attending Utah State University, majoring in Agricultural Communications and Journalism;
  • Sanne de Bruijn of Pollock, S.D. Attending South Dakota State University, majoring in Dairy Production and Dairy Manufacturing and minoring in Food Safety. De Bruijn is also a South Dakota Dairy Ambassador;
  • Kathryn Lyne Gardner of Fayetteville, Ark. Attending University of Arkansas, majoring in Agricultural Business and Communications;
  • Morgan Krause of Buffalo, Minn. Attending University of Minnesota, majoring in Agricultural Communications and Marketing;
  • Haely Leiding of Fountain, Minn. Attending University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, majoring in Agricultural Education;
  • Kayla Leiding of Fountain, Minn. Attending University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, majoring in Agricultural Communications and Marketing;
  • Rebekka Paskewitz of Browerville, Minn. Attending South Dakota State University, majoring in Agricultural Education and minoring in Animal Science and Social Media/Public Relations; Paskewitz is also the current Princess Kay of the Milky Way, the official goodwill ambassador for Minnesota dairy farm families; and
  • Andrew James Wilwerding of Freeport, Minn. Attending South Dakota State University, majoring in Dairy Production.

Eligible majors include journalism, communications/public relations, marketing, business, economics, nutrition, food science or agriculture education. Scholarship criteria include academic achievement, a career interest in a dairy-related discipline, along with demonstrated leadership, initiative and integrity.

Tony Rice, a Penn State University student from Mount Pleasant Mills, Pennsylvania, earned the 2018-19 James H. Loper Jr. Memorial Scholarship