[LINCOLN, NE June 18, 2021] – The Nebraska Cooperative Council Education Foundation (NCCEF) has awarded 11 scholarships totaling $31,000 for the 2021/22 academic year to students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA) at Curtis, and the University of Nebraska-Kearney (UNK).
The NCCEF scholarship program was initiated for the 1993/94 academic year with funding from voluntary contributions from the agricultural cooperatives which are members of the Nebraska Cooperative Council. Since the program’s inception, 220 scholarships totaling $282,600 have been awarded.
To be eligible for the scholarships, students must be majoring in agribusiness or agricultural economics at UNL, agribusiness or ag production systems at NCTA, or agribusiness at UNK. Eligibility is restricted to sons/daughters of a parent/legal guardian who has been an active member, director, or employee for at least the prior three years of a cooperative which has been a member in good standing of the Council for at least five years.
Among this year’s recipients is Alice McDonald, who received a $3,000 NCCEF Scholarship in honor of Michael S. Turner. Alice, the daughter of CPI patrons John and Susan McDonald of Phillips, will be a senior at UNL majoring in agricultural economics.
Other recipients of the $3,000 Turner Scholarship include Madison Adam, Wesley Wach, Layne Miller, Cade Payne, Alexander Kumm, Samuel VonSpreckelsen, and Cooper Schutz. In Addition, Brandi Coons and James Lee received $2,000 NCCEF Scholarships also in honor of Michael S. Turner. Elizabeth Yrkoski was awarded a $3,000 NCCEF Scholarship in honor Robert C. Andersen.
“The Nebraska Cooperative Council Education Foundation is honored to provide students with financial support, allowing them to be able to study agricultural business/economics. Education is one of the fundamental cooperative principles, and this program continues to be an important part of our efforts to help youth understand the cooperative way of doing business and interest them in pursuing careers in the agricultural industry here in Nebraska,” according to Gerald Schmidt, Foundation Board Chairman.
The purposes of the Nebraska Cooperative Council Education Foundation are to promote and encourage high school graduates to pursue higher education in the agricultural and agribusiness fields through scholarships and the implementation of school-to-work programs with participating Nebraska cooperatives; to encourage high school graduates to remain in Nebraska in agricultural pursuits all of which will result in community betterment; and the preservation of agriculture as a way of life.
