116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Mount Vernon student receives Farm Bureau scholarship
Erin Jordan
May. 20, 2019 11:00 am, Updated: May. 20, 2019 3:13 pm
The Iowa Farm Bureau this year is awarding $180,000 in scholarships to Iowa students who plan to study agriculture.
One of those students is Clayton Loyd, 19, of Mount Vernon, who just finished his freshman year at Iowa State University studying agricultural engineering, with an emphasis on power and machinery.
'I grew up on a farm and working on equipment,” Loyd said in a recent phone interview. Now he's on a path to design and build the next generation of farm equipment. 'It gets me out in the field instead of just in the office.”
Loyd is excited about his ISU coursework, which includes a class in which students take apart a tractor and put it back together again, he said.
'Your grade is based on how well it runs,” he said.
Because Loyd switched his major from civil engineering to agricultural engineering, it made him eligible for the Farm Bureau scholarship, which is $1,000 a year renewable for up to four years for students with at least a 2.5 GPA. Loyd also received a one-year, $1,000 scholarship from the Linn County Farm Bureau, he said.
'It's huge,” Loyd said of the aid. 'It's helped tremendously.”
The Iowa Farm Bureau awarded $1,000 scholarships to 180 students who will study in areas ranging from animal science and genetics to agricultural business and agricultural education, the organization reported. Since 1997, the Farm Bureau has awarded more than 1,200 scholarships.
Scholarships were awarded to children of Farm Bureau members who plan to or currently attend an accredited college, university or community college to earn two-or four-year degrees. Six recipients were selected from each of the nine Farm Bureau districts in Iowa.
First-time applicants were asked to write an essay indicating the contributions they expect to make to agriculture and the rural community. They also were selected based on their academic achievement, financial need, community and extracurricular involvement and letters of recommendation.
Other first-year recipients:
Joshua Bartling, Ackley; Spencer Collins, Adel; Ashlen Young, Albion; Justin Wigdahl, Ames; Abigail Rotole, Bloomfield; Andrea Gehling, Breda; Ashley Kurt, Cascade; Marie Knepper, Cascade; Ty White, Chariton; Kayla Ritter, Clear Lake; Ashton Larson, Clearfield; Amber Friedrichsen, Clinton; Riley Davis, Corydon; Shelby Westhoff, Dyersville; Molly Kvidera, Dysart; Emily Herum, Estherville; Brandt Molyneux, Gibson; Grace Greiman, Goodell; Jennifer Johnson, Gravity; Claire Smith, Griswold; Chelsea Larsen, Guthrie Center; Megan Rotert, Halbur; Jake Stenzel, Hamburg; Sarah England, Hubbard; James Chism, Huxley; Lexie Maloy, Ionia; Lydia Saxton, Lake Mills; Cassidy Lambert, Lehigh; Leah Mosher, Liscomb; Lindsay Crock, Mechanicsville; Alex McDougall, Melvin; Ty Houston, Mondamin; Mya Pargeon, Montezuma; Candace Moore, Morning Sun; Chelsea Harris, Muscatine: Connor Shipley, Nodaway; Chloe Levan, Osage; Ben Vos, Pella; Sara Aguilar, Pella; Mason Peters, Portsmouth; Franchesa DeVore, Promise City; Cole Brake, Rembrandt; Anne Rosgaard, Rock Valley; Jared Birks, Rockwell City; Mackenzie Berkland, Ruthven; Jacob Stukerjurgen, Salen; Maggie Myers, Sperry; Sarah Phelps, St. Ansgar; Justin Dillon, Sumner; Rylie Johnson, Unionville; Reiley Lichty, Waterloo; Shayla Kuennen, West Union; and Nathan Behrends, Wiota.
l Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com