Scholarship Winners Pursue Careers In Ag

Those of you who fear the number of young people entering the agricultural field is declining, take heart. The students who received scholarships based on their agriculture focused career goals at the 2008 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market Expo banquet are great examples of the interest fruit and vegetable growing still holds for youth.

American Vegetable and American/ Western Fruit Grower were once again supporters of the program. The Michigan State Horticultural Society and the Michigan Vegetable Council presented the scholarships to the students, who are working on their Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. degrees at Michigan State University.

The recipients of the scholarships for 2008 were Curtis Dietrich, Jason Falak, Jennifer Foster, Bill Holdsworth, Peter Nelson, Kristin Oomen, Jacob Rasch, Nobuko Sugimoto, Suneth Sithumini Sooriyapathirana, Taylor Smith, and Ajay Nair.

Taylor and Ajay both received Jordan B. Tatter Scholarships, which were established in honor of the late Jordan Tatter. The fund for the scholarship is endowed at Michigan State University, and the earnings are used to provide scholarships for deserving students
pursuing careers in the fruit and vegetable industry. A total of $19,000 in scholarships has been awarded since
the fund was initiated in 2003.