Angus Foundation scholarship deadline approaching, new scholarships announced

Each year, the Angus Foundation, the non-profit entity of the American Angus Association, makes available scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in higher education. Applications for Angus Foundation scholarships must be postmarked by May 1, 2013.

The scholarship funds are meant to assist deserving Angus juniors in paying for the cost of higher education. Angus breeders, allied industry interests and friends trust the Angus Foundation with their generous gifts of endowed and non-endowed monies to make these scholarship awards possible.

Two $5,000 undergraduate scholarships will be given in memory of Richard “Dick” Spader, former Association executive vice president. A number of $3,000 and $1,000 undergraduate scholarships will also be awarded. In addition, the Angus Foundation will award five $5,000 graduate student scholarships.

As determined by the Angus Foundation, applicants may also be eligible for other named scholarships that are permanently endowed and managed by the Angus Foundation. Past recipients of Angus Foundation general undergraduate scholarships can continue to apply for named scholarships unless specified otherwise by the Angus Foundation.

New in 2013 are three scholarships supported by the 2012 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) host states. These 2012 NJAS In a League of Our Own undergraduate scholarship awards will be given to youth from Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

Being funded by the Pennsylvania Angus Association and Angus breeders from that state, the inaugural Pennsylvania Angus Youth Undergraduate Scholarship of $500 will be awarded through the Angus Foundation this year.

The Howard and JoAnne Hillman/Bon View Farms Angus Scholarship Endowment Fund, established by Howard and JoAnne Hillman, Sioux Falls, S.D., during the recently completed Vision of Value: Campaign for Angus fundraising campaign, will initially provide a $1,000 scholarship for one junior member from South Dakota to be awarded annually.

A memorial award created by family members and friends of the late Gary M. Stoller will also be given for the first time in 2013 to allow one junior member to attend the Leaders Engaged in Angus Development (LEAD) Conference. The family members, who reside in Nebraska and Idaho, titled it the Gary M. Stoller Jump Start Your LEADership Award.

In 2012, the Angus Foundation awarded more than $200,000 in youth scholarships at the NJAS in Louisville, Ky. This year’s scholarship recipients will be recognized at the 2013 NJAS in July in Kansas City, Mo.

“I encourage our Angus youth to apply for Angus Foundation scholarships,” says Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “Young people are the future of the Angus breed, and Angus breeders and other supporters of the Angus Foundation continue to rise to the occasion to provide the resources needed to support these young people and help move the industry forward.”

Kelli Retallick, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in animal science with an emphasis in natural science, has received scholarship support from the Angus Foundation during her college tenure, including the annual $5,000 award from the Angus/Talon Youth Educational Learning Program Endowment Fund established in 2010. This endowment was started by Camron “Cam” Cooper, owner of the Talon Ranch, Twin Bridges, Mont.

Retallick, a current National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) director from Glen Haven, Wis., says having the opportunity to receive scholarships from the Angus Foundation has helped her immensely in her career path and throughout her education.

“Coming from a family farm, and growing up in that type of atmosphere, there wasn’t always extra dollars,” Retallick says. “I’ve been very fortunate to be awarded those scholarships. Without a doubt, without those Foundation scholarships, I don’t know if I could be where I’m at today.”

The Angus Foundation reserves the right to also award scholarship(s) to eligible applicants based on financial need, personal and/or family hardship, physical handicap, medical disability, other extenuating circumstances or combination thereof when determined such sufficiently exists to warrant special consideration by the Angus Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee for this purpose.

More specific guidelines and information about the Angus Foundation’s scholarships and awards, along with a link to the undergraduate and graduate student applications can be found online at http://www.angusfoundation.org.