CATTLE RAISERS SCHOLARSHIPS:

Good for Students, an Investment in Our Industry

Students bound for careers in agriculture may apply for scholarships by Jan. 13, 2012.

Research data gathered by the winner of the Mary and Leonard Stiles Scholarship is supporting the health of cattle through the feedyard, reducing costs and increasing efficiencies for cattle raisers. Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Foundation (TSCRF) administers this scholarship.

There are more large-animal veterinarian graduates setting up practice in Texas and Oklahoma thanks to scholarships presented by TSCRF to support these students in the last critical months of their education. TSCRF has enriched the lives of numerous students through its scholarship program and Roger Welder, Victoria, chairman of the TSCRF Scholarship Committee, encourages students to take advantage of this opportunity.

Since 1995, more than $250,000 has been awarded to assist young men and women from 14 universities in Texas and Oklahoma pursue a degree in agriculture or an agriculture-related program — and the cattle raising industry of these states is benefitting.

Candace Frerich, the current Mary and Leonard Stiles Scholarship recipient, attends Angelo State University, San Angelo. Frerich says she hopes to use her research opportunities at the university to help the cattle raisers in exchange for their help to her. She is making good on her promise because her research data supported work by a pharmaceutical company to develop an improved vaccination for fed cattle.

Dr. Amanda Kowalski is one of several recipients of the TSCRF scholarship for large-animal veterinarians. She, a 2010 graduate of Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, and her fellow winners who have graduated, are licensed to practice veterinary medicine. Most of this group chose to practice in a large- or mixed-animal practice.

Her decision was made easier thanks to the support of TSCRF. Kowalski says, "Deciding how to track your courses (large, small or alternative) in vet school is a difficult decision facing many vet students. This scholarship provides an incentive to production-oriented students to pursue their dreams. This scholarship was integral in helping to support my dream to be a food animal vet."

Joe Freeman, an Austin architect and rancher who worked with the Foundation to establish the Large Vet Scholarship, says, "The large-animal veterinary scholarships were established to offset a decline in the number of veterinarians with large-animal practices in small towns and rural areas in Texas and Oklahoma.

"These large-animal practitioners are essential to the cattle-raising industry in the areas of animal health, breeding and productivity. As stewards of our heritage, it is up to us take actions now that will matter greatly to the next generation of cattle raisers. The scholarship committee is always mindful of its responsibility to use the allocated funds wisely in carrying out the Foundation's intentions and of the generosity of those who support it with their contributions."

Each spring the TSCRF Scholarship Committee evaluates a stack of scholarship applications to select recipients who are intent on careers in the livestock industry and who will carry forward the values and skills associated with cattle raising.

The committee's charge is to carry out the intentions of the Foundation and the generous donors who support the idea that our most valuable resource is the young men and women who will raise cattle and care for the land in the future.

The applications are not light reading, but are intensely interesting. The high school students who are bound for college to study in agriculture-related fields, and the college students who are continuing in these endeavors, reveal their achievements, struggles, hard work and their values in their applications. For the committee, it is not a matter of searching for worthy candidates, but of selecting from a field of young men and women who, each in his or her own way, have achieved distinction.

The applicants are diverse, coming from large cities, small towns and ranches. They come from wealthy school districts and small rural districts with limited resources. Most have participated in some form of raising cattle, by helping with the family cattle herd or through high school agricultural organizations such as FFA.

Many have struggled, along with their families, through hard times. Great stories of courage in the face of adversity emerge when the committee members evaluate each applicant's achievement, need and character.

For example, the committee members learned about the young man who interrupted his dream to become a large-animal veterinarian to care for his brother — and then worked to return to school. They met, through an application, the young woman who waitressed, in addition to her other responsibilities, so she could afford to show a steer at the livestock show. And they came to know about the challenges faced by upperclassmen through the application of the third-year vet student who will repay more than $100,000 in student loans.

Chairman Welder finds the work challenging and rewarding. "Our Foundation is committed to preserving the ranching heritage of Texas and the Southwest. The best way we can continue this heritage is to continually invest in the many facets of agricultural science education and continue to meet the needs of young men and women interested in this ever-changing industry.

"It is rewarding and reassuring to see the investment in these motivated students pay off. They gain confidence during college, they graduate and they excel in their careers. We cattle raisers are the ultimate beneficiaries of the TSCRF scholarship program," Welder says.

This spring the Scholarship Committee will be back at its difficult, but rewarding task. While they are doing their work, the leaders of the TSCRF hope that you will encourage your college-bound children to apply for a scholarship.