Four CAFNR Seniors Inducted into Mizzou '39
Columbia, Mo. (March 8, 2011) — Congratulations to the four CAFNR seniors inducted into the elite 2011 class of Mizzou '39. Each year, the Mizzou Alumni Association Student Board (AASB) honors 39 seniors among the 3,000 graduating seniors as a tribute to the founding of the University in 1839.
A committee of alumni, faculty and staff select the honorees based on academic achievement, leadership and service on campus and in the community.
The recipients are honored throughout Mizzou '39 week at events like half time during the MU Vs. Texas Tech men's basketball game this year. Seniors share the celebration with a mentor that has greatly influenced and supported them. Finally, the seniors along with their family and CAFNR mentors celebrated at a banquet reception at the Reynolds Alumni Center.
The following are the four CAFNR seniors and mentors were honored this year:
Julia Shuck is an agricultural journalism major from Perry, Mo. She serves as a CAFNR Ambassadors, International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences (IAAS) MU chapter founder and president, IAAS World editor, National Agri-Marketing Association MU president, Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow MU president, National Collegiate Agricultural Ambassadors, Lambda Pi Eta communications honors fraternity, MBS Textbooks intern and IEP Language Partner, among other activities. After graduation, Shuck will work with agricultural journalists in Ghana before earning her master's degree in international agriculture development. Mentor: Sharon Wood-Turley, assistant professor, agricultural journalism.
"Sharon has been an amazing mentor for me over the past five years," said Shuck. "She has supported me academically, professionally and personally, helping me to achieve my personal goals, while still managing to help others students achieve theirs- and in the agricultural journalism department, there are a lot of different goals. Sharon is the reason I spent a summer creating a website for some farmers in Costa Rica, something I want to do as a career and I got the experience as an undergraduate."
Liam Smyth is a biochemistry major with a minor in agricultural economics from St. Charles Mo. He serves as a member of Farmhouse Fraternity, Alpha Zeta, CAFNR Ambassador, Peer Career Comittee, CAFNR Undergraduate Research, Pre-Dental Club, Biochemistry Club, and Phi Kappa Phi honor fraternity. After graduation, Smyth will take a year to prepare for Dental School by finishing pre-requisite classes and doing research in St. Louis. Mentor: Dr. Virginia Peterson,
"Virginia Peterson has a mind like a steel trap," Smyth said. "She can remember almost anything about any biochemistry student here at Mizzou. She was an amazing influence on my switch from engineering to biochemistry and I am so happy with my degree. She has done this for countless other students and we are all forever in debt to her for her help."
Kathleen Sprouse is an agricultural journalism major from Kansas City, Kan. She serves as a research fellow of the McQuinn Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership along with helping other campus activities, such as Rockin' Against Multiple Sclerosis, CAFNR Ambassadors and MU Entrepreneurs' Club. After graduation, Sprouse will pursue a master's degree in agricultural business at Michigan State University. Mentor: Randy Westgren, professor, CAFNR.
"Randall Westgren is an outstanding mentor with high energy and exciting ideas," said Sprouse. "He is an engaging professor who is dedicated to student learning and creating entrepreneurial opportunities for the university and the state through his classes and extension work. The MU community is grateful for Westgren's expertise in entrepreneurship and his passion to serve as a teacher and innovative researcher."
Samantha Wilkerson is an agribusiness management major from Paris, Missouri. She is currently the president of Mizzou Collegiate Farm Bureau and a CAFNR Ambassador. She has also held leadership positions in the Independent Aggies and Alpha Zeta Honors Fraternity and served on the CAFNR Executive In Residence Committee and the Courses & Curriculum Committee along with interning every summer throughout college. Another significant accomplishment Samantha achieved was selected as the 2009 Missouri State Fair Queen. After graduation, Samantha will be a seed sales trainee with Monsanto in western Iowa.
Mentor: Scott Brown, FAPRI Associate Director
"I chose Scott as my mentor," Wilkerson said, "because I worked closely with him as he is the adviser for Collegiate Farm Bureau, the professor for my ag policy class, and when I worked at FAPRI. Scott is always good for a laugh, but also a wealth of knowledge and a great resource to his students. He has always encouraged me and pushed me to reach my potential."
Photos courtesy of Nancy Wilkerson and the Mizzou Alumni Association