Scholarships Awarded At Great Lakes Expo

The future looks a lot brighter for 15 students at Michigan State University (MSU) who were presented with scholarships during the annual banquet at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable, and Farm Market Expo in Grand Rapids, MI, in December. The scholarships were presented by the Michigan State Horticultural Society and the Michigan Vegetable Council and sponsored by a number of industry partners, including American Fruit Grower and American Vegetable Grower magazines.

Here is a brief look at this year's scholarship recipients:

Ben Byl: Ben is a Master’s degree student in Horticulture. After earning a B.S. degree from Hope College, he spent a year with Americorps and two years with the Peace Corps in western Madagascar. After graduation, Ben intends to serve for a couple years as a horticultural consultant in Africa or Asia to complete his goal of five years of public service and then return to the family farm in Shelby.

Lucas Costanza: Lucas is a junior majoring in Crop and Soil Sciences. He grew up on a fruit and vegetable farm in Sodus, MI. This past year he worked in Dr. Mary Hausbeck’s (MSU) plant pathology laboratory. When he graduates, he plans to work as a crop consultant or pursue graduate studies to become a plant breeder.

Tiffany Enzenbacher: Tiffany is working on a Master’s degree in Plant Pathology. Before starting her M.S. degree program, she worked for five years as a senior greenhouse grower at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. Since starting her Master’s program, she has worked in Dr. Mary Hausbeck’s plant pathology lab. She plans to work in plant diagnostics after graduation.

James Manning: James will complete his B.S. degree in Horticulture next spring. He currently has a 3.98 GPA at MSU. He has worked at organic farms in Maine and Georgia. After graduation, he plans to operate a community education farm in Northern Michigan.

Mike Roth: Mike is a junior majoring in Crop and Soil Sciences. Mike has interned for two summers with Helena Chemical Company, scouting fruit and vegetable crops and making pest management recommendations to growers. Upon graduation, he plans to work as an agronomist for a farm chemical company. He would also like to add some vegetable crop production to his family’s farm in Lowell, MI.

Rebekah Struck: Rebekah started a Master’s degree program in Horticulture this fall. Her graduate research project involves testing new low tunnel configurations for frost protection and yield improvement in tomato and cucumber production. She runs a farm market on the family farm in Oakley, MI, and plans to return to the farm after graduation.

Laura Avila Niño: Laura is working on her Master’s in Plant Pathology. Her area of interest is Epidemiology, fungicide resistance, and disease damage thresholds. She plans to earn a Ph.D in order to improve disease management practices and develop new alternatives to control the epidemic spread of plant diseases.

Ryan Dietrich: Ryan is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Agri-Business Mangagment in Fruit Production. Ryan currently works in a Post-Harvest lab at MSU researching Honeycrisp storage methods. After graduation, Ryan plans on continuing the legacy on his family’s 800-acre fruit farm.

Alan Dosenberry: Alan is completing his Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture in the area of Postharvest and Packaging. Alan is currently employed in a Plant Genetics Laboratory and wants to continue the research, experimentation, and testing of packaging and storage systems for food crops.

Jason Karle: Jason will be completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture next spring with a focus on viticulture and enology. Jason is currently the president of the MSU Wine Appreciation Club. He plans to pursue a career in winemaking and viticulture. His future plans include a desire to eventually earn his Ph.D and teach at MSU.

Andrew Schultz: Andrew is pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness Management in the area of Fruit Production and Direct Farm Retail. He is an Eagle Scout and has spent considerable time developing environmentally friendly community service projects. His future plans include returning to his family fruit farm.

Travis Stegmeir: Travis pursues a Ph.D in Plant Breeding and Genetics in the area of Fruit Breeding. His current work is on the genetic control of cherry leaf spot and the genetic control of other quality traits in tart cherries. His aspiration is to work in the private sector on cultivar development for better fruit qualities, disease/pest resistance or higher yield.

Anthony VanWoerkom: Anthony is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Entomology and his area of interest is Fruit Tree Entomology. Upon completion of his degree, he plans to continue his career with a chemical company working with pesticides and may also pursue his PhD in Entomology.

Jordan B. Tatter Scholarships

In December 2003, the Michigan State Horticultural Society and the Michigan Vegetable Council announced their intention to initiate a scholarship fund in the memory of Jordan Tatter, a long-time professor at MSU. Each organization committed $5,000 to start this fund. This fund has the support of the Tatter family, as well as many of Michigan’s agricultural leaders. This is endowed at Michigan State University. The earnings are used to provide scholarships for deserving students pursuing careers in the fruit and vegetable industry. Including this year, a total of $28,000 in scholarships has been awarded.

Henry Thompson: Henry is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture. His area of interest is Fruit Breeding. He plans to graduate in the spring of 2012 and go on to graduate school, eventually obtaining a Ph.D in Plant Breeding and Genetics in Horticulture.

Carolina Contreras: Carolina is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Horticulture in Postharvest Physiology and works on the postharvest evaluation of Honeycrisp and MN-1914 (SweeTango) apples. She is interested in finding solutions to the challenges growers face in regards to the storage and production of sensitive apples. In the future she plans to become a physiology professor.