CANR Alumni Board announces 2025 Alumni Association student scholarship recipients
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EmailEach year, the CANR Alumni Board awards scholarships a group of exceptional students who demonstrate leadership, excel in the classroom, serve their communities and articulate a clear vision for their future career aspirations.
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) Alumni Association annually awards scholarships to a group of exceptional students. These scholarships recognize students who demonstrate leadership, excel in the classroom, serve their communities and articulate a clear vision for their future career aspirations.
This year, ten CANR students were awarded CANR Alumni Association Scholarships totaling $28,000. All students in good standing from across the college are eligible to apply for CANR Alumni Association Scholarships. Awards are granted annually to up to three first-year students enrolled in the Institute of Agricultural Technology (IAT), up to eight undergraduate students with junior status and up to two graduate students within CANR.
2025 CANR Alumni Association Scholarship recipients:
- Lynn Olthoff: Department of Animal Science, graduate student
- Melanie Pimnetal Concepcion: Department of Animal Science, graduate student
- Jerry Pekala: Fruit, Vegetable and Organic Horticulture Management, Institute of Agricultural Technology
- Nash Wendling: Electrical Technology, Institute of Agricultural Technology
- Aishah Abdulkadri: Department of Community Sustainability, undergraduate student
- Abigail Guza: Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, undergraduate student
- Ashley O’Brien: Department of Animal Science, undergraduate student
- Olivia Porter: Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, undergraduate student
- Grace Unholzer: Department of Animal Science, undergraduate student
- Koryania Robinson: Department of Animal Science, undergraduate student
Funds awarded through the CANR Alumni Association Scholarship are provided by gifts to the CANR Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship Fund. Without the generous support from members of the CANR Alumni Board and donations from the wider-CANR community, these scholarships would not be available for our students.
For 2025 recipient Melanie Pimnetal Concepcion, a graduate student in the Department of Animal Science, this scholarship is opening doors to valuable networking opportunities and industry exposure shaping her career path. “I would express my sincere gratitude by sharing how this scholarship has directly supported my education and research,” she said. “I’m incredibly thankful to be part of a community that invests in student growth, and I hope to give back by mentoring others and contributing to the agricultural sector.”
Aishah Abdulkadri, an undergraduate student in the Department of Community Sustainability, said that receiving the CANR Alumni Association Scholarship is empowering her success by reliving financial pressures. “This support helps ease the financial burdens of college, allowing me to focus more fully on my coursework and experiential learning,” said Abdulkadri. “It especially enables me to continue to pursue research and public service projects while living on campus. Proximity to my studies and community are greatly important to me, and because of this scholarship, I am able to do my best work.”
To maintain and expand the availability of these financial awards for future CANR students, additional support is needed from the CANR community. CANR recently launched a CrowdPower campaign in support of the CANR Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship Fund.
With a goal of raising $10,000, gifts to this campaign will directly benefit CANR students by supporting these life-changing scholarships. We invite CANR alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of CANR to join us in this effort by making a gift today or sharing information about this campaign with your networks.
To make a gift or learn more about this campaign, visit the CANR Alumni Association Scholarship CrowdPower page.
