(Columbus, Ohio) The Agriculture Education Foundation announces five scholarships issued for the fall semester of 2022. Five students becoming agriculture educators are each a recipient of $1,000 towards their tuition costs this semester.
Recipients of the scholarship are:
· Holden Nuhn of Collins is a freshman at Wilmington College planning to be an agriculture teacher upon graduation.
· Cora Crillow of Millersburg is a freshman at The Ohio State University, ATI planning to be an agriculture teacher upon graduation.
· Seth Richardson of Springfield is a freshman at The Ohio State University, ATI planning to be an agriculture teacher upon graduation.
· Haven Hileman of Stout is a sophomore at The Ohio State University planning to be an agriculture teacher upon graduation.
· Luke Jennings of Felicity is a freshman at The Ohio State University planning to be an agriculture teacher upon graduation.
These five students were selected based on their commitment to agriculture education. The recipients all provided applications that revealed a thorough understanding of the greatest threats to the food supply in America. All five students are successful academically and have been awarded for their success in 4-H and the FFA.
“This is all part of the effort to have agriculture education in every elementary and high school in the state,” said Foundation Chairman Jim Buchy. “As we work hand and hand with community leaders in Cincinnati and Cleveland, a common problem is a lack of qualified teachers. We are hopeful to use this scholarship to recruit more ag teachers.”
The Foundation points out a shortage of agriculture educators in this country. As recently as 2019, there were 182 high school agriculture programs without a qualified teacher.
The Agriculture Education Foundation is a 501(C)3 supporting agriculture education throughout the state and encouraging a connection between farm country and the city.
The scholarship opportunities are open to any student who meets the minimum qualifications and is enrolled or planning to enroll in an agriculture teaching major or 4-H extension major at any of Ohio’s three Universities
offering these programs or another two-year or four-year school in Ohio offering a two plus two program or another pathway to become an agriculture teacher or extension educator.
The Agriculture Education Foundation is chaired by former State Representative Jim Buchy. The foundation formed in 2017 to encourage agriculture education in the city. The foundation points to the need for more agriculture educators to backfill the known shortage of agriculture teachers in Ohio. Specifically, a successful pilot program with agriculture in schools in Cleveland and Cincinnati demonstrated that agriculture education is a component to increasing graduation rates. The foundation knows this success is garnered from the values naturally instilled by agriculture. The success of the programs are inherently tied to the educators leading the programs. The foundation will identify and promote agriculture educators that further enhance the mission of agriculture in the city. The mission of the foundation is to promote agricultural education accessibility and support agriculture educators by connecting those in action with resources for success.