Sixty-two graduating high school students from farm families across Canada have secured $1,500 entrance scholarships to pursue studies in agriculture thanks to financial assistance provided through the Monsanto Fund Opportunity Scholarship program.
In total, the Monsanto Fund has awarded $93,000 in scholarship funding as part of its 2012 commitment to agricultural education. Ponoka’s Taya Hoar is one such winner.
The Monsanto Fund Opportunity Scholarship program received over 160 applications from rural students across the country this year. The winners were selected by an independent panel of judges based on their academic performance, leadership capabilities and involvement in giving back to charitable or other service groups in their local communities. All applicants were also required to submit an application essay that answered the question, “In what area of agriculture would you like to work and why?”
“The Monsanto Fund has a strong commitment to rural education and rural communities,” said Trish Jordan, public and industry affairs director with Monsanto Canada.
“Farm families are the strength of rural communities and it is an honour to support children from farm families who want to remain engaged in agriculture and give back to our industry and their communities.”
The 2012 Monsanto Fund Opportunity Scholarship winners are all Grade 12 graduates from a farm family who are enrolled in a first-year degree or diploma program in agriculture or an agricultural-related field this fall at a recognized Canadian educational institution.
“It is an honour to administer this program on behalf of the Monsanto Fund and have the opportunity to be exposed to so many quality, rural students who have chosen agriculture as their field of study,” said program administrator Johanne Ross, executive director of Agriculture in the Classroom-Manitoba Inc.
“Reading the student essays really drives home what impact agriculture has had on the lives of these young students. They see the possibilities and the excitement that agriculture holds as a future career path and I know they will strengthen our industry and their communities in the future.”
Since its inception in 1991, the Monsanto Fund and Monsanto Canada have provided well over $1 million to hundreds of rural kids who have chosen to study agriculture and pursue careers in the agricultural sector.
—Submitted